Unit four: Munch and Crunch

Unit four: Munch and Crunch

Food waste is one of the major issues facing our world today. According to the National Food Waste Strategy 2017, Australians throw out $8 billion worth of edible food with a food waste cost to households varying from $2200 to $3800 per year.

By reducing food waste, we not only save money, we also save energy and other resources used in the production, delivery, sale and preparation of food.

In Brisbane, food waste represents the highest volume of material in household rubbish bins (24%) and residents throw away approximately 97,000 tonnes of food each year. This waste ends up in our landfill becoming one of the main contributors to the generation of methane – a greenhouse gas more than 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CSIRO 2016). It is not just the actual food waste that ends up being a waste issue, it is also the packaging that often comes with it.

Food packaging is also considered part of Munch and Crunch. This unit takes a holistic approach to reducing food related waste ending up in landfill including unavoidable food waste and food packaging. Cling wrap and other soft plastics have become increasingly common over the last 40 years and have become a major environmental problem.

As an educator you can help bring about change by introducing families, staff and children to waste smart practices that reduce both food and packaging waste. In this unit of the professional development course, you will discover a range of ideas that will not only reduce waste, but also reduce litter, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve resources, save money and help to develop healthy eating habits.

Learning outcomes for Unit four: Munch and Crunch

• Find out about the issues associated with food waste.
• Discover ways that food waste and food packaging waste can be reduced at early learning centres.

Before you start Unit four: Munch and Crunch

• This unit will may take approximately 30 - 60 minutes to complete. Once you start the unit, you cannot save your changes and come back so make sure to allow enough time to complete the whole unit.
• Keep a notebook to record your notes as you go through the unit to avoid printing.