BMA teams up with retail giant to reduce food waste

BANGKOK, July 4 (TNA) – The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) teams up with retail giant Tesco Lotus, to cut food waste in the capital. The BMA’s Pollution Control Department joined hand with Tesco Lotus, the United Nations and key allies from all sectors in launching a pilot project to reduce food waste in its 23 hypermarkets by handing over unsold edible food to local charities. The United Nations targets to cut half the world’s food waste in the retail sector by 2030. Tesco Lotus declared its intention to distribute food leftover from all Tesco Lotus stores to the needy and impoverished persons within this year. According to the Department of Pollution Control, the country produces 27 million tonnes of garbage last year or about 74,130 tonnes a day. Each person produces 1.14 kilogrammes of garbage daily on average. About 64 per cent of the garbage was food waste. As high as 16 per cent of garbage in Thailand was not properly managed and it clogged sewer system and blocked water flow when a flood occurred, said the department. (TNA)