7 — topic
Composting in style
energy, water and land is involved in the production of food. Finally, the webpage continuously calculates the value of all the food wasted worldwide. Why is it that we discard so much food when at the same time we are so concerned with how much this waste costs? One major reason for unnecessarily huge food purchases that consumers are then not able to consume are extensive promotional activities vying for our attention and rebates for multipacks and bulk purchases. These may look like an exceptionally frugal idea in the store but in reality often lead to an extreme waste of money and food. Various pages and apps have appeared on the internet to help consumers avoid wasteful purchases and to reduce the amount of food destined for the trash (see the info box “How not to waste” below).
Some just need to hear the term compost and will swear that they can smell something rotting. Compost does not really have a great reputation and a heap of stale food and other biodegradable waste does not necessarily sound appealing. But alas, composting is great for the environment (as it limits the production of methane that is released when bio-waste is barely dumped at a landfill) and creates a highly valuable resource for growing vegetables, fruit and other plants. Whereas Czechs are among the frontrunners in recycling glass, plastics and paper, they still are lagging behind when it comes to biodegradable waste. More than 52 percent of Czechs simply toss their kitchen waste and scraps into the trash, as shown in KPMG’s survey of Czech purchasing behaviour. The situation is even worse in large cities above 100 000 inhabitants, where more than 73 percent dispose of bio-waste together with their regular trash. Indeed, in smaller towns and villages, most food waste either is fed to domestic animals or ends up on the compost heap, so that only 20 percent of respondents admit to disposing of their bio-waste non-ecologically. But composting can be done effectively and without too much hassle even in the city. As proven by Czech designer Jiří Pelcl, who has turned composting into a beautiful and stylish matter. His vermi-composter, produced by Plastia, shows that even a composter can be a fashionable accessory for modern interiors. Like other, similar products, the closed and multi-levelled container allows for the easy composting of a kitchen’s biodegradable waste. Inside the container, Californian earthworms do their magic. For his design, Pelcl was nominated for this year’s Czech Grand Design award. And by the way, the Czech Republic is the country with the longest composting tradition in Europe. The first controlled technology composting plant was put into operation here in 1912, according to odpadovecentrum.cz, a webpage compiling sources of municipal support for composting.
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