ZERO WASTE

Every year, about 1/3 of the food that is intended for human consumption (1,3 billion tones) ends up in landfills along with the energy, water and the chemicals that were used for their production and disposal. Wasting food is not only an ethical and economic issue but it also depletes the environment of limited natural resources. All this food in the trash increases the emissions of the greenhouse gas and contributes to the global warming {food waste alone generates about 8% of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions (FAO, 2015)}. The food waste is a problem which needs to be addressed under the European policy about the transition of Europe to the world’s first climate-neutral conitinent. The best way to prevent food waste is to educate, inspire and encourage the public and especially young generations totake action. Pupils, as the future generation, are the most important people to reach when addressing crucial changes in established behaviors. More specifically, students (new generation) through schools and their teachers could play a significantly important role in reducing food waste. The main goal of the “ZERO WASTE” project is the school teachers to get informed and educated, through a useful training material, about the social, environmental and financial consequences due to food waste and the best practices for reducing it. Teachers will have the ability to include the training material for food waste in their class in order to raise the awareness and pass the knowledge to their students. The final goal of this project is, both, teachers and students (and as a consequence their families) to act as transmitters for a new way of life based on the cyclical economy, the proper management of the daily food consumption and the elimination of food waste with the motto “use wisely, reduce, recycle”.