Sustainable consumption

Daniela:
We are currently consuming more resources than ever, exceeding the planet’s capacity for
generation. In the meantime, waste and pollution grows, and the gap between rich and poor is
widening. 

Unsustainable patterns of consumption are root causes of the triple planetary crises of climate
change, biodiversity loss and pollution. These crises, and environmental degradation, are related to
the threat to human well-being.

In fact, in 2020, an estimated 13.3 percent of the world’s food was lost after harvesting and before
reaching retail markets.

An estimated 17 per cent of total food available to consumers (931 million metric tons) is wasted at
household, food service and retail levels.

Food that ends up in landfills generates 8 to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Alexandra:
That is why sustainable consumption is the key to sustaining the livelihoods of current and future
generations and the governments and all citizens must work together to improve resource efficiency,
reduce waste and pollution, and shape a new circular economy.

There are other types of sustainable consumption such as production electricity from organic waste
(biomass energy) and reduce electronic consumption, and if possible, recycle and reuse the electronic
devices, to decrease the amount of electronic waste in landfills.

Maria:
We found 4 examples of implemented measures related to sustainable consumption:

An example implemented worldwide is the Ten-Year Plan of Programs on Sustainable Production and
Consumption, one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. This aims to achieve the sustainable
management and efficient use of natural resources, reduce food waste and encourage companies,
especially large and transnational ones, to adopt sustainable practices.

Alexandra:
Another example applied at national or regional level is the creation of the "too good to go" app,
which aims to ensure that quality food is consumed and not wasted. For every day, tasty food is
wasted in cafes, restaurants, hotels and supermarkets - just because it was not sold in time. The app
allows consumers to buy a Magic Box with this surplus from establishments at a low price.

Refood is an independent, non-profit organization, led by voluntary citizens, who collect leftover food
in restaurants, supermarkets, bakeries, cafes, pastry shops, hotels, etc. and distribute it to those in
need. In this way, it intends to reduce food waste, alleviating hunger and reducing the amount of
waste that would otherwise end up in landfills, aggravating the problem of waste management in
cities.
Daniela:
The Refood project was launched in Lisbon, on March 9, 2011, by Hunter Halder, who started
collecting food and delivering it to those in need, riding a bicycle. In the first year, the movement, still
in its infancy, received the “Montepio Young Volunteer”.

Home composting is another example that contributes to sustainable consumption and depends on
each one of us. Composting is a natural process of transforming waste from the kitchen, vegetable
garden and garden, carried out through microorganisms that transform biodegradable waste into a
fertilizer rich in nutrients, which is called compost.

Maria:
In our locality, a domestic composting program is being carried out by Valorlis, which is a multi-
municipal company for the recovery of urban waste, in collaboration with the municipalities of Leiria,
Marinha Grande, Ourém and Pombal.

The program consists of distributing composters with the aim of contributing to the diversion of
biodegradable urban waste from landfills, as well as responding to requests and expressions of
interest from municipalities, and will be promoted in partnership with Municipalities and Parish
Councils.

To receive them, there are some conditions, namely, to be resident in one of the municipalities
covered, to have a household equal to or greater than two people, to live in a house with a garden,
backyard, vegetable garden or agricultural land and to participate in an explanatory training on how
to proceed with composting.

Alexandra:
To conclude, we can say that it is through sustainable consumption that natural resources are better
used, we reduce pollution and the loss of biodiversity and guarantee the sustenance of current and
future generations. As there are several forms of sustainable consumption, there is no excuse for not
doing it