Melbourne and Bandung join forces to tackle food waste

Innovators from Melbourne and Bandung, Indonesia will join forces to tackle food waste and potentially accelerate the transition to a circular food system.

Applications are now open for the Melbourne-Bandung Food Waste Challenge, delivered in partnership between the City of Melbourne, Rocket Seeder and the City of Bandung.

“Our partner-city relationships are crucial to help us learn and tackle global issues on a local level — and with the City of Bandung, we’re giving some of our best minds the opportunity to collaborate on meaningful projects and ultimately make lives better for our residents,” said Lord Mayor of Melbourne Nick Reece.

“This challenge will leverage insights from both cities’ food systems and waste management strategies — ultimately offering major industries with guidance to reduce their environmental footprint.”

The program will connect early-stage startups, social enterprises and researchers from both cities with industry partners from the hospitality, food market and airline industries.

Through the 10-week program, participants will gain access to:

• workshops and mentoring sessions led by food waste and circular economy experts
• industry connections with investors, policymakers and food system leaders
• networking opportunities to foster cross-border collaboration and idea-sharing
• support to develop, validate and scale innovative solutions.
   

“At Rocket Seeder, we see startups as the heartbeat of innovation in food systems — their fresh ideas are cutting waste and sowing the seeds for a more sustainable future,” said Rocket Seeder Executive Director Piers Grove.

At the end of the program, selected participants will pitch their solutions to a panel of industry experts, with the winners to receive the chance to pilot their solution within industry partners’ business operations, as well as the potential for further support and investment.

“Melbourne and Bandung are both home to established ecosystems of innovators, entrepreneurs and leading universities — and this challenge gives them a platform to have a lasting impact through creative solutions to food waste,” said Innovation and Education portfolio head Andrew Rowse.

Food waste is a global issue, contributing to carbon emissions, economic losses and food insecurity. In Australia alone, over 7.6 million tonnes of food is wasted each year costing the economy $36.6 billion annually, while Indonesia faces similar challenges in managing organic waste and food supply chains.

This initiative builds on the partner-city relationship between Melbourne and Bandung, with both sharing a commitment to sustainability and innovation.

Mayor of Bandung Muhammad Farhan said, “I’m confident that this collaboration will generate ideas that can have a positive impact and bring benefit to the local businesses and communities in both Bandung and Melbourne.”

Applications are now open for entrepreneurs, startups, researchers and innovators working on food waste solutions.

Image credit: iStock.com/MachineHeadz