The rapid filling of the Central Landfill has been an important concern in Rhode Island for years and several steps have been taken to mitigate the issue. I propose a “wonky fruit and vegetable program” as a solution that has recently been adopted by some European and United Kingdom discounter chains.
Rhode Island has a serious landfill problem. A food-waste ban was introduced in 2014 as a solution because food waste constitutes a significant part of the garbage. Due to the ban, the amount of composted food waste increased tenfold in the last eight years and freed some landfill capacity. Nevertheless, the amount dumped into the Central Landfill is still significant in Rhode Island – 700 tons per day. However, the downward trend stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The regulations do not apply to individuals, who could do a lot for the cause. Motivating people is harder than you might think, but perhaps the economic slowdown could turn things around.
Inflationary pressure is becoming more and more significant in Rhode Island and Europe, and the energy crisis in Europe is not helping everyday living either. According to the latest surveys, 60% of people have started to reduce their expenses. They are looking for discounts while buying groceries. In this new economic environment, interest has grown in a food category called wonky fruits and vegetables.
What does the adjective wonky mean in this case? Fruits and vegetables that are the same in nutrition content but different in shape, size or form. So far, the customers have not fully adopted them because everyone wants the most beautiful pieces, but the stores have realized that many have become open to buying them at a lower price and are actually looking for them to cut back grocery expenses. In Europe, it is especially popular among those living on a smaller budget since for them vegetables and fruits are the first to disappear from the grocery basket in times of tighter economic conditions.
According to statistics, 40% of a store’s vegetables and fruits end up in the trash, most of them wonky. In the United Kingdom, discounter chains have reduced the volume of vegetable and fruit waste to almost zero simply because the non-average ones are sold at a significant discount. The stores can reduce the difficult and circumstantial waste management, and the customers benefit too.
However, the effect does not stop at the stores. Think about the impact widespread wonky action could have on Rhode Island and the state’s waste management. Forty percent of the daily 700 tons of food waste at the Central Landfill comes from retail and restaurants. If we take the English example as a basis, it would be possible to reduce these 700 tons by 5% with a wonky fruit program. It would mean cutting the daily landfill intake by 14 tons. That’s 5,000 tons a year. One garbage truck can hold 14 tons, so the initiative could free one truck daily.
In Rhode Island, there would be a need for retail chains to start this comprehensive program – which would include providing special displays for wonky products with a significant discount. In Europe, participating stores were also able to gain market share due to the popularity of the program. However, a spectacular result would be achieved not only with the involvement of the private sector but also with state regulation. And we also need enthusiastic customers who will buy these perfectly imperfects.
One fewer truck per day would save fuel, reduce the emission of harmful substances and, most importantly, reduce green-waste methane production – which significantly contributes to the greenhouse effect. The wider interest in wonky products can result in the acceleration of the entire supply chain since less pre-filtering is required at farms, and we could also reduce green waste at those farms. In the future, the program will also be able to provide those living on a smaller budget with a necessary source of nutrition. The social impact is significant. And last but not least, it draws people’s attention to how much food ends up in the trash instead of being donated. In the end, it could extend the life of the landfill by three to five years.
Noemi Csepregi is a retail executive in Europe enrolled in the dual-degree MBA program at the University of Rhode Island and Széchenyi István University in Hungary.
