When someone mentions Penang, right off the bat everyone will start raving about the glorious food spread that’s available on this island located up north of Malaysia.
But behind the wonderful food is a whole lot of wastage.
The state of Penang reportedly throws away about
700,000kg of
char kwey teow, assam laksa and
nasi kandar on a daily basis, according to a report by
The New Straits Times' Balvin Kaur
.
State Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh told the daily that food waste accounts for 40% of the total solid waste sent to the Pulau Burung waste landfill daily.
Statistics from the National Solid Waste Management Department also notes that the highest solid waste contributor is food, which amounts up to
3,000 tonnes daily.
The food waste is believed to be from
restaurants, hotels, caterings, weddings, and
open houses.
To put it into perspective, 700,000kg is equivalent to
four empty 747 aircrafts or 700 second-generation Proton Saga cars.
Walaoweh, we know how much Malaysians love food, but after looking at this figure, perhaps we should all reevaluate our eating habits and don’t bite off more than we can chew. What a waste!
The most popular
nasi kandar eatery in Penang, Nasi Kandar Line Clear, also admits to contributing to this problem.
The owner, Sahubar Ali told the
New Straits Times in a seperate report that an estimated 5-10kg of food waste is accumulated daily at his stall.
Imagine how many people we can feed with the amount of food we’re wasting daily.
So, let’s try to be a better consumer by controlling our food portion and not to give in to our monstrous appetite. Besides, a better diet means a healthier lifestyle!
So the next time you're eating out, remember that while you are wasting food, a lot of people in the country and other parts of the world are starving.