Annual food waste totals NIS 3.2b.

Food waste in Israel is estimated to total around NIS 3.2 billion a year and accounts for 35% of the volume of municipal waste.

In honor of Earth Day, Leket Israel, a food rescue organization, has released its fifth annual food waste and rescue report in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Ministry.

Some NIS 1.4b. stems from the unnecessary waste of land and water resources, NIS 1b. is the result of greenhouse gases (GHG) and pollution, and around NIS 800 million directly comes from waste collection and processing.

While greenhouse gases cause food waste, food waste also causes these gases; it is estimated that 6% of all greenhouse gases in Israel stem directly from food waste. The report stated those numbers are comparable to GHG emissions from 1.6 million cars per year.

“To illustrate the point, along with the enormous amounts of food that are wasted each year, the following resources are also unnecessarily consumed: 1,260 million kWh of electricity, equivalent to the total amount of electricity needed to produce all computers, electronic and electrical equipment in Israel each year; 70,000 tons of fuel that could fuel 160,000 cars in Israel annually; 180 million cubic meters (180 billion liters) of fresh water, which would fill 56,000 Olympic-size pools or would be the equivalent of every citizen in Israel taking one shower daily for a year; 1 million dunams [100,000 hectares] of agricultural land, equivalent to 20x the size of Tel Aviv,” Leket Israel said in a statement.

The NGO noted that over half the losses could be saved if food is properly disposed of, or used.

The report added that around 25% of Israelis stated that their fruit and vegetable expenditures have increased by at least NIS 100 a week since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Some 4% stated that they earned below-average salaries, and still throw away more than 30% of the food they purchase on a weekly basis.

To close the gap, Leket Israel stated that Israelis had to save around 20% of the food that is wasted, estimated at NIS 640m.

Food rescue efforts, which would combat this issue, would cost only NIS 880m. to fund annually. They would also save 80 million cubic meters of water, 250 million kWh of electricity and thousands of tons of fuel, Leket Israel said.