Have you ever joined a hot-pot gathering with your floor-mates in your Hall's Common Room? It’s a popular part of the eating culture in Hong Kong and many of us might be planning to have one. Over the food which is boiling inside a hot pot, you can meet and get to know your floor-mates, especially the ones you don’t get to see or talk with very often.

Sweet friendship is nonetheless not the only thing generated by these gatherings. There’s usually also a heap of veggies and leftovers in the trash bin, for when we are in a party mood, we tend to buy more food than we normally consume.

Yet it’s truly surprising that few of us have noticed the amount of food waste we produce every day. In fact, Hong Kong produces about 3,000 tons of food waste every day and the average daily per-capita amount of food waste is 0.05 kg, which is the highest in Asia, according to Greeners Action.

image from www.recycleforcalderdale.org

Whilst food is a necessity for human survival, it’s a non-necessity for the earth, for these enormous amounts of food waste threaten the planet. When it is incinerated, food waste pollutes the air, and when it is buried, it pollutes the soil and underground water. Processing 1kg of food waste emits 864 kg of carbon dioxide. This is not to mention the economic value of the wasted food - handling each ton of food waste costs the Hong Kong government more than HK$800. Last but not least, while we are wasting so much food, 800 million children across the world are starving..

For all these reasons, we MUST stop wasting food. But how? To begin with, go grocery shopping with a well-planned shopping list; check the expiry date of food in the fridge and consume it before it expires; and order food portions that you can handle. These measures are much more effective than you think!

Homey Kitchen and the caterers on the CityU campus are also keen to take part in reducing food waste. They will soon be joining the “Say No to Food Waste” campaign launched by Greeners Action. Here are its terms and conditions. When you order a 1/3 smaller rice portion for a two-choice meal at Homey Kitchen, you will get a reduction of HK$1. Watch out for the details of the campaign and support the world’s resources!

So why wait? Let’s save our planet and save resources by cutting out food waste!