Reducing food waste, one pineapple tart at a time
It’s going to take public education, efforts by stakeholders and some legislation to cut down on unsold Chinese New Year goodies
IN THE run-up to the Chinese New Year, stacks of red-capped bottles crammed full of cookies and crackers make their appearance in the malls around Singapore. That is one sure sign that the festive period has begun.
I hear that this year, a certain osmanthus pineapple ball was nearly as hot as a Taylor Swift concert ticket. These sold out almost immediately – which was most disappointing for their many fans, but a positive development from a sustainability viewpoint.
But, one swallow does not make a summer. When it was time to shut up shop on the eve of the New Year, many stallholders had to heavily discount their offerings to get rid of unsold stock. Every year, the alarming prospect of a food mountain made out of festive goodies presents itself.
Understandably, businesses will go all out for sales during the festivities, as this is when a significant proportion of the year’s revenue is generated.
How to tackle the matter of unsold goodies? The Straits Times recently featured a selection of imaginative recipes that use the pineapple from the tarts or the leftover bak kwa. Interesting, but unlikely to make much of a dent in the inventory.
True, the unsold goodies are often distributed to charities and old folks’ homes. But, nursing-home staff are careful not to let the elderly overindulge in these sweet offerings. Some of the residents have difficulty with the harder cookies. In short, the problem cannot be disposed of that easily.
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But, it is not insurmountable. South Korea’s jongnyangje or waste disposal system, for instance, has achieved nearly 100 per cent food-waste recycling, up from 2.6 per cent in 1996, through colour-coded waste sorting bags and a pay-per-disposal system, says Singapore University of Social Sciences’ company law lecturer Ben Chester Cheong.
Given that sustainability is the new watchword, more should be done to reduce the amount of waste.
For a start, more detailed and up-to-date numbers would be helpful. What’s available indicates a promising trend: The National Environment Agency (NEA) notes that the amount of food waste generated in 2023, 755,000 tonnes, was less than 2022’s 813,000 tonnes. The numbers for 2024 are not available yet.
Granular data is not easy to come by on a timely basis, as the data comes from many sources and needs to be audited. But, knowing in greater detail the amount of waste generated during festive periods, including the Chinese New Year, will be useful in determining better strategies to tackle the problem.
Second, continued efforts have to be made on the public education front. Already the NEA has social media posts highlighting tips on the 3Rs of reduce, reuse, recycle to encourage the public to reduce waste. Its Food Waste Management Strategies offer guidance for households looking to adopt more sustainable consumption habits.
Third, stakeholders can do more. Businesses could offer more sustainable options. For the Chinese New Year, consider offering a container of just five pineapple tarts or a box with 10 tarts from 10 bakers.
Cheong, who is also a sustainability regulatory lawyer at RHTLaw Asia, suggests that the supermarkets’ reduced-price corner concept could be expanded and standardised across more retailers, perhaps supported by regulatory frameworks or incentives.
He also raises the possibility of introducing tax incentives for businesses that effectively manage their food waste through such programmes.
Public education, stakeholders’ efforts and a judicious dose of legislation could give the right push to tackling the problem of food waste.
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