Supermarket chain unveils mind-blowing new plan for unsold food: 'Food waste is a global tragedy'
To reduce reliance on traditional dirty fuels, British supermarket chain Sainsbury's has launched an initiative to transform its food waste into fuel for its fleet of heavy goods vehicles.
RenEco, a waste processing company, has partnered with the chain to help it reduce waste and the use of diesel for its trucking fleet at the Emerald Park distribution center, according to Retail Insight Network.
The company will create biofuel from food that cannot be donated or used for animal feed to power 30 trucks at the location, which is half the fleet.
Organic waste will be broken down through anaerobic digestion, an oxygen-free method for producing biogas, per the report. It's then further refined into a liquid biofuel that the company can use to power its distribution network vehicles.
Moving to a fully circular economy for fueling the vehicles is expected to save approximately 3,300 tons of planet-warming emissions from being released into the atmosphere each year. It also supports the company's ambitious goal of becoming net zero across its operations by 2035.
Studies have shown that food waste is a global problem and occurs at every level of the food supply chain, including harvesting, transporting, processing, packaging, and consuming. The labor, energy, and resources involved in these industrial processes will also have been wasted.
More than 95% of discarded food will end up in landfills, which are a major source of methane, a particularly dangerous greenhouse gas. Reducing waste streams and converting waste materials into valuable resources is an essential step toward sustainability.
"Food waste is a global tragedy. Millions will go hungry today as food is wasted across the world," said Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, in a press release.
"Not only is this a major development issue, but the impacts of such unnecessary waste are causing substantial costs to the climate and nature," added Andersen.
Sainsbury's eco-friendly initiative highlights the change that can be enacted when corporations get involved in climate issues and work to make a difference. HelloFresh, an international meal kit company, has also launched an effort to convert food waste into usable resources.
Should grocery stores donate food that's past its sell-by date?
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Patrick Dunne, Sainsbury's chief property and procurement officer, said, "Today's announcement underscores the power that collaboration has in driving impactful change across business."
"We are proud to have worked closely with our supplier RenEco to deliver a pioneering move that supports our commitment to circularity and helps us to take a further step towards becoming net zero across our operations by 2035," Dunne added.
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