FRRC launched the annual mooncake recycling activityearlierthis year. Through sharing a series of Green Mid-Autumn Festival tipsonline and holding a promotional booth at Tsuen Wan Aeon Store,we hope to encourage everyone to purchase just the right amount of mooncakes, to potentially lighten the “surplus mooncake mountain”aftermath. Two collection points at FRRC andCA’s Tai Kok Tsui Officewere set up and 4 organizations joined our program this year to collect surplus mooncakes in their organizations.
FRRC recovered more than 5,000 pieces of mooncakes in total, which marks the largest recovery amount in our brief history. As the enormous amount had exceeded our predetermined capacity, the collection period had no choice but to conclude early. According to our record, 30% of the mooncakes was received before the Mid-Autumn Festival while 70% was recovered after. Perhaps the strong festive sense has placed an unspoken “time limit” on the mooncakes, as once the festival is over, they are no longer desired and ended up at the recycling centre. We sincerely encourage manufacturers, retailers and the general public to take the initiative and responsibility to properly handle potential surplus food items at the earliest convenience in future festivals.
In all honesty, it was challenging to tackle the unscheduled, last-minute yet massive donations as both our centre and members were reaching the limit of our receiving capacity. In terms of festival food manufacturing and retailing, it would be greatto investigate the market demand and previous sales records before carrying out any production plans to ensure production is able to meet the annual demand without generating waste. Food banks and recycling centers should not be relied on to take upthe excessive production. The best way to go is to reduce waste from the source after all.
In addition, quite a number ofpublic donors mentioned “mooncakes were gifted and unable to finish most of the time”, which shows the habit of excessive gifting still exists nowadays. We believe it can be easily solved by asking for preferencesof recipientsbefore gifting, so there won’t be too much leftovers after all. An interesting phenomenon was also noticed this year: three-quarters full mooncakes box sets were often ended up as donations to our center. It brings out a hidden message… perhaps “one is enough”. So rather than purchasing a traditional mooncake box set, let’s think twice next year and try to buy just the suitable amount!
In the end, Mid-Autumn Festival should be about spending quality time with beloved friends and families, fancy mooncakes and excessive gifts are not the essence of the festival. We truly believe if we can appreciate the value of food and work together hand-in-hand, the “surplus mooncake mountain” shouldn’t appear again in FRRC and other food recycling centers in the future.
