Taichung City's NT$82.5 million food waste budget for schools questioned

Taichung City plans to allocate NT$82.5 million to manage food waste generated from school lunches in the new academic year, a move that has drawn scrutiny from city councilors. The significant budget for waste disposal has raised questions about the effectiveness of current food waste reduction initiatives in the city's schools.

City Councilor Chang Fen-yu pointed out a discrepancy in the figures presented by the Education Bureau. While the bureau reported a reduction in food waste per student, from 130 grams to 83 grams, the budget for waste disposal is calculated using a higher estimate of 150 grams per student. This calculation, Chang argued, suggests that food waste is not decreasing as claimed and could even be increasing, despite the stated goal of reducing it to 70 grams per student.

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The education bureau claims that food waste reduction has decreased from 130 grams per student to 83 grams, but the budget for food waste disposal uses 150 grams per student.

Chang urged the Education Bureau to adopt more proactive and creative methods for tackling food waste. She proposed incentivizing classes with financial rewards, similar to a "bonus for extra dishes" program in Tainan, which reportedly reduced student leftovers significantly. Such incentives, combined with food education, could foster a stronger "cherish food" culture among students from a young age.

Education Bureau Director Chiang Wei-min explained that the higher figure in the budget accounts for un-drained food waste, which increases disposal costs. He assured that the actual costs would be based on the real weight of the waste. The bureau also offers subsidies of NT$5,000 to NT$20,000 to schools participating in waste reduction competitions.

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Considering that undrained food waste affects transportation costs, we have broadly budgeted based on 150 grams. We will calculate based on actual weight.