If these facts make you as frustrated as they do us, it's time to do something about it.
Join Young Post's "Waste Not, Want Not" project to help spread the anti-food-waste message. Sign up with a team of four to six people and provide a 150- to 200-word project proposal, explaining how your team might promote food-waste awareness at your school.
We will run a series of workshops this month with organisations on the frontline of the city's food-waste situation, explaining things such as recycling, disposal and carbon footprints.
Once your team has this information, you can put your project into action at your school in whatever format you choose, whether it's a series of posters, a video, a play, a speech or a booklet - there are no limits to how you spread the message.
We'll be publishing details and results of the best projects in Young Post!
Click here for more details.
How to enter:
Fill in the details HERE (if you have a SCMP.com account) or HERE. Don't forget to include a project proposal of 150-200 words, explaining how you might promote food waste awareness at your school.
Application deadline EXTENDED to 6pm, March 8, 2013. Workshops will run in early March, and all submissions must be made by April 30.
We will get in touch shortly to let you know which workshop your team has been assigned to.
Sources: Institution of Mechanical Engineers, UN World Food Programme, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, BBC News, The Guardian