Wasted Food At The Beach

Now that the firepits are up at Belmont Park and Mission Beach, the amount of wasted food will increase dramatically. Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, bread, candy, marshmallows, graham crackers, cookies, cakes, chocolate (S’mores) chips, dips, salads (all kinds) fruit, vegetables, yogurts, mustard, mayo, relish,  pizza… you name it, it will show up on the beach. Anybody will be able to feed themselves just by the food left at the firepits.

There are so many problems- issues with the leftover food on the beach and in the parking lots. 

1.) It attracts Rats and other Vermin. Rats are out at night and hang out in sewers and storm drains. Nothing is a yucky as seeing a dead rat on the tideline or by storm drains. We also have raccoons, squirrels and possums.

2.) Birds i.e Sea Gulls Eat it. 90% of seabirds have been found with plastic (National Geographic) In another study the Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. ‘Scientists examined the stomach contents of gulls that foraged on landfills and found most of the birds were filling their bellies with human detritus. It wasn’t just plastic, either—the birds’ stomachs were packed with glass, metal, and even building materials, indicating that all kinds of human-made debris might be imperiling animals’ health.’ 

3.) Birds circle around the food and dropping fecal matter, squawking and disturbing people. It is like the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds. 

4.) It attracts flies. All beaches have flies, but in high density areas, such as Mission Beach, flies are a huge issue, particularry in the summer, where tourists bring the kitchen sink and throw away, so much food. All that food and overflowing trash cans breeds flies and maggots. 

5.) Most of the food comes packaged in plastic. Even more Plastic Pollution. It gets either washed out to sea, eaten or put in landfills in which it produces gasses.

6.) It shows a lack of respect for other people and the environment.

7.) Discourages tourists and other people who actually go to the beach for enjoyment.

8.) It is disgusting to look at.

That said, I guessimate, over 1 Gallon of leftover Sugary Drinks are thrown out daily. The amount of chips, ice-cream, french fries, sauces thrown out in the parking lot and beaches could feed one or two families daily. 

I Just Got to Eco You

• $160 Billion worth of food thrown out every year by Americans.
• $2,500 worth of food in a year is throw away every year by the average American Family.
• 20 pounds of food is thrown out by the average person monthly.
• 1 out of every 4 grocery bags of food is wasted in America.
• 30% of food globally is never eaten.
• $91 billion worth of dairy products are wasted  According to the United States Department of Agriculture.
• 2 Billion people could be fed globally by the amount of food wasted worldwide.
• United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted. The cost of this waste is $680 billion in industrialized countries and $310 billion in developing countries.

Why do we waste food? While there have been studies done (see below), the real reason(s) we have too much money, so we can waste it and are lazy. Instead of sharing a meal, we buy the whole thing and throw it away instead of using as leftovers.

As an FYI: the expire dates on the food refer to quality, not safety. Most food-borne illness is caused by contamination along the supply line or improper food handling, not from expired food.

If one just picked up these plastic packets only, they would never have to purchase ketchup, mustard, taco sauce, mayo, soy sauce again in their life. This is what I call an Easy 50 unused food packets a day. Another 50 of used packets.

This was in the trash can behind me.. just to say, it is not only about wasted food on the beach. When Vacation Renters leave they have to clean out the fridge. This was because the house sold and they just put everything in the trash.

I wonder what would happen if somehow this excess food could be composted in a community garden, given to help feed the needy or even reused as fuel? Over the last 2 months of tracking beach trash, 70%  of the beach trash is from ‘Food’ and it’s packaging. That does not even count the ‘small bits of packaging and styrofoam imbedded in the seaweed.

This problem is not just endemic to beaches. If you are going to a park or a beach, please

1.) Bring only what you will actually eat or drink.

2.) Bring your own trash bags and take it out with you. That way there is no worries about overflowing trashcans and feeding wildlife.

3.) Do not feed the wildlife.

4.) Leave only a footprint.

Resources 

• State of Obesity 
• National Geographic: How much food do we waste 
• USA Today; Article on Why We Waste Food 
• Food Donation Act 
• You Tube Video: How Much Food Do We Waste
• Characterization and Management of Food Loss and Waste in North America
• Spoiler Alert- a mobile app, lets you donate the food that might otherwise go to waste.