Dutch-Ovening our Planet

Blog #22

• What are the roles that nurses can play in addressing food waste?
• I was shocked to hear that the United Staes waste enough food to fill 730 foot ball fields per year. Unbelievable; but yet believable. I too am guilty of purchasing strawberries that are currently way too ripe in my Fridg that I neglected. Even more sad was learning that in 2013 49.1 million people lived in food-insecure households; and this most likely doesn't come close those in developing countries. 
• Nurses role to address this issue can be to bring awareness to expiration dates, choosing the last of an item and not purchasing more then you plan to make/eat. In the past year, I have started to only purchase what I plan to eat for three to four days. Although not great on time management, it has helped keep my waste at a minimum. This is not ideal for families who need to make larger meals, but has been a great solution for me. I also think along these lines we need to educate our patients and communities about donating food. Local initiative should be in place to assists smaller farmers get food to these donation sites! 
• I remember seeing a video from CNN in 2016 that Dominican Republic had the largest garbage wave. It was heartbreaking to watch, especially when you can walk about 5 miles down the beach to resort that caters to the wealthy.
• https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/07/22/garbage-plastic-wave-dominican-republic-parley-for-the-oceans-jm-orig.cnn
• How can nurses exert leadership in addressing pharmaceutical waste?
• I was actually just speaking to my sister about this. At my hospital we have a policy that when IV tubing is expired we discard the tubing and what ever medication, IV solution or PCA that is attached to it. But my question to her is why are we discarding a perfectly good, stable, not expired or past the use date Dilaudid PCA when it never touches the IV Tubing. Why not change the the tubing, and prime the new set with the old drug. This questions came up today as Night Shift had place a brand new syringe in expired tubing. During this opioid crisis and shortage, it seems silly to waste 50mL of drug; so do pharmaceuticals have the same suggested "use by" date that our food products do? And is it safe to do as we did?
• After watching the TED talk about a young woman who chose to live a zero waste life, consider the changes that you might be able to make in your life a zero waste life.
• After watching her presentation, its actually hard for me to think of how I could make my own products and purchase my clothing second hand. But purchasing in bulk and using my own containers. I already use my own bags for groceries, but I still purchase most things in packages. I mean can't make my own Peach Erbe Ice Tea, I can try; but it will not be the same. So compromise. I can not make my own toilet paper- which comes wrapped in plastic, but chosen a more natural, single ply sheet may help. Food are certainly more simple, but I would be interested to see what other changes I can make. If I'm being honest, I am truly not a natural deodorant or lotion or hygiene product person; but there are other ways I can make a difference. 

In the News:

I found the coolest article on food waste reductions and solutions that are working in other parts of the world. In the article by Max Kim he focuses on Seoul South Korea, who has recycled 95% of its food waste compared to the 2% in 1995. They have accomplished this by composting unused, or left over food waste and by the government in 2013 implementing a law that requires all residents to purchase biodegradable bags that a average $6.00 a month. In essence, people are paying a tax on their food waste up front. 

The articles states that no only it is simple, but brilliant; it offers incentives to reduce waste and make residents confront it head on. At some locations, waste is actually weight and the price changes with the weight. Over the last six years, the article states that a total of 47,000 tons of food waste has been recycled. 

Lastly the article gives a brief description on how food is recycled: food is ground to a powder that is either converted to either animal feed or fertilizer. Then moisture is squeezed from waste and fermented into biogas or bio-oil. This process is reported to help residents stopped draining food liquid and dumping it into the ocean.