Every year, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd. Created in 1970 in the United States, it invites all citizens to do something concrete to protect the environment. It’s an opportunity for us all to become aware of the problems affecting the planet and  find tips aimed at better protecting it.

👉 At our level, on April 22nd, we produced a live cooking session with chef Pati and a teenager. Together, they cooked the Benoo box. If the objective is to reconnect people to local food, the objective is also, in the long term, to raise awareness of the global problems that concern us all, namely plastic in the oceans, waste production and food waste. 

Plastic in the sea
8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the oceans every year, the equivalent of a garbage truck being dumped into the sea every minute.

We recommend watching the documentary Seaspiracy, recently released on Netflix, which is sure to change the way you think about fishing. From the importance of sharks and dolphins for our ecosystems, to the dramatic consequences of industrial fishing for our planet, the documentary reminds us that nearly 85% of the oxygen we breathe comes from the seas.

👉 At our level, we can already greatly reduce or even stop the consumption of single-use plastic: coffee stirrers, cotton buds, cups, straws, etc., especially since there are now ecological alternatives to these products. We can also limit our purchases of products packaged in plastic as much as possible, and take our own reusable bags before going shopping to avoid plastic ones. Working with local products, Benoo can use fabric bags and glass jars rather than plastic.

Waste production
Germany has the highest recycling rate in the EU, which is very encouraging. But at the same time, it is the second largest producer of waste in Europe, behind Denmark. 618 kg. This is the amount of waste produced per capita per year in Germany.

According to circular economy specialist Philipp Sommer of Deutsche Umwelthilfe, “The problem in Germany is that we focus too much on recycling. We should rather be asking ourselves how to avoid plastic. And we are very bad at that! Because we are the country that produces and consumes the most plastic in Europe.”

👉 At our level, to limit the production of waste, we can buy in bulk to limit packaging, donate, exchange or sell products that we no longer want, and respect selective sorting. A well-sorted product is a recycled product. 

Food waste
One third is the amount of food that is lost without being eaten. According to the French government, if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. Beyond the environmental aspect, food waste is costly for all households. On average in Germany, 940€ is wasted per year for a family of four. Add to this the ethical aspect where throwing away food seems unacceptable today in the perspective of a global food crisis.

👉 At our level, we can cook leftover food by reheating it or adapting it to new dishes. This is also an opportunity to discover new flavours! We can also avoid buying too much and better understand expiry dates: “best before” does not mean that your product is good to throw away, but that its quality is simply not optimal anymore, it may still be quite consumable. At Benoo, we make sure we send out just the right quantity for each Benoo bag.