Sheikh Saleh bin Humaid, who said wasting food is sinful.

The Royal Court has ordered that committees be formed to reduce food waste because it is a threat to the natural resources of the Kingdom including groundwater, according to Minister of Agriculture Abdul Rahman Al-Fadli.

A recent study has forecast that Saudi Arabia’s growing population would increase waste from 14 million tons this year to 17.5 million tons in 2020, with the cost of collecting it likely to be SR360 million annually, according to a report in a local publication.

According to a paper submitted by Yousef Al-Saif, undersecretary of the Ministry for Municipal and Rural Affairs, at a workshop organized by the Agriculture Ministry titled “Reduction of Food Waste,” every person produces about 1.2 to 1.4 kg of waste a day or about 511 kg a year.

Organic material produced by gardens, parks and food leftovers account for about 40 percent. Leftover food is estimated at 28 percent of all waste produced in the country, which is a result of wastage linked to customs and traditions, including over supply at weddings and other social events.

Sheikh Saleh bin Humaid, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars and imam and preacher at the Grand Mosque, stated in a paper he presented that food wasting was a sin and should be punished.

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