The collection of bio-waste (food and food preparation waste) from citizens is taking its first steps in several municipalities in Portugal. In the Leiria region, there are already several initiatives from the municipalities of Leiria, Marinha Grande, Batalha, Porto de Mós, at least.
In the case of Leiria, the Leiria+Verde project has already started to collect bio-waste from restaurants and hotels, and is now starting to collect bio-waste from homes. To do this, you can request a bucket to separate bio-waste at home, which will then be deposited in brown containers, which will be located next to the usual green containers for unsorted waste (common waste).
Separating biowaste raises several questions. For example, should a bag be placed inside the crate or not? If so, what type of bag should you use: a bio-bio plastic bag (biological origin and biodegradable) or a normal plastic bag (of fossil origin, non-biodegradable)? If you don’t use the bag, how long can you keep the bucket at home without there being a bad smell or other type of problem? And what will be better? Use a bag or wash the bucket?
If, on the one hand, the consumption of water when washing is avoided, on the other hand, the bags may hinder the anaerobic digestion process. After the anaerobic digestion process, the waste will still have to be composted to be used in the soil. To do this, the compost (as it is now called) will have to meet requirements that may be difficult to meet when using biodegradable bags (even of biological origin).
But before sending bio-waste to its new container, you can think about the other “Rs”, such as the R for Reduction. Is it possible to reduce the amount of bio-waste in kitchens? Is it possible to make the most of food? And can meal preparation be improved?
Food waste (what would be edible but not consumed – excluding bones, bones and peels) is one of the causes of bio-waste and, in Portugal, more than 180 kg is wasted per year, per person, which is impressive . It is urgent to define reduction strategies, so that we can reduce food waste and bio-waste.
Here are some tips: plan meals, store food correctly to extend its shelf life, buy only what you are going to consume, avoid shopping when you are hungry or in a hurry, reuse fish peels and trimmings, freeze leftover meals, reuse the bread for bread or migas, take home what’s left over from the portion ordered in restaurants.
