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January 15, 2025 | 12:32 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ministry of Environment said food waste generated from the free nutritious meal program will be influenced by several factors, including the scale of the program, the number of beneficiaries, distribution efficiency, consumer behavior, and the program's operators.
Novrizal Tahar, the director of waste management at the ministry, said a nationwide operation of the free lunch program could serve up to 24 million elementary school students, based on the 2023/2024 education ministry data.
Assuming that each student generates 50 to 100 grams of food waste each day, he said, the waste potential could reach 2,400 tons per day or 624 thousand tons per year.
“That amount of food waste can produce greenhouse gas emissions of 200,760 tons of CO2eq,” Novrizal told Tempo on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
In general, some anticipatory steps with a holistic approach must be taken to tackle the food waste issue in Indonesia. Policy transformation must accommodate waste management efforts from upstream to downstream, accompanied by supporting policies and a circular economy approach.
The government must also adopt measurable national standards for food waste reduction, especially in terms of the distribution, marketing, and consumption processes, he added, by tightening supervision to significantly reduce food waste.
Novrizal also stressed the importance of strengthening infrastructure and technology in order to increase the efficiency of food storage and processing facilities. Simultaneously, boosting public awareness about consumer behavior shifts is also required.
“To allow for the mass-scale implementation of food waste management on site to reduce the level of food waste. Sorting, collecting, and processing food waste at the waste processing facility to avoid being disposed of in landfills,” he said.
Special handling of food waste after the implementation of the free nutritious meal program, according to Novrizal, can be conducted through drafting standards operating procedures involving the manufacturing process, distribution flow, and post-consumption waste handling that consider feasibility, efficiency, and following appropriate food waste management guidelines.
Novrizal also urged relevant parties to form collaborative efforts to mitigate food waste and to provide proper facilities and infrastructure in the implementation of a free nutritious meal program.
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