Jakarta Government Strengthens Food Waste Prevention in Business Sector
The Jakarta Provincial Government is strengthening food waste prevention through policy, behavioural change, and innovation in the business sector to reduce the amount of food scraps entering the waste system while easing the burden of urban waste management.
Head of the Jakarta Environment Agency, Dudi Gardesi Asikin, stated that food waste is not only a matter of food wastage but also adds to the burden of daily waste collection, transportation, and processing.
“Reducing food waste from households, restaurants, hotels, catering services, and various business activities will greatly help reduce the burden of city waste management. This effort must be carried out starting from the source so that food which still has value does not immediately end up as rubbish,” Dudi said in a statement in Jakarta on Thursday.
According to him, food waste prevention needs to be carried out comprehensively, from shopping planning, food storage, processing, and serving, to the reutilisation of food that is still fit for consumption.
Dudi said these prevention efforts simultaneously support the reduction of organic waste, which dominates Jakarta’s waste generation. This is considering that Jakarta produces around 9,059 tonnes of waste every day, and nearly half of it is organic waste dominated by food scraps.
Meanwhile, Head of the Jakarta Food Security, Marine Affairs, and Agriculture Agency, Hasudungan A. Sidabalok, said the Jakarta Provincial Government is drafting a Regional Regulation on the Implementation of the Food System. One of the substances to be regulated is the prevention and control of food waste.
“The success of building a sustainable food system requires the participation of all parties. Every effort to reduce food waste will have a major impact on food security while helping to reduce waste in Jakarta,” Hasudungan said.
On the other hand, Executive Director of the Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development, Indah Budiani, said food waste reduction also needs to be a concern for business actors, particularly the hotel, restaurant, and catering sectors. According to her, every food ingredient that is wasted not only adds to the environmental burden but also means the loss of purchasing costs, storage, labour, processing, and waste management expenses.