Replate: first-rate or not so great?

A bunch of San Francisco “troublemakers who make good things happen in culture and commerce” are drawing much-needed attention to food waste. Language in Common recently launched a fascinating web campaign urging people to leave their unwanted doggie bags atop trash cans for hungry folks to eat.

Essentially, they’ve taken an observed behavior and made it a verb: Replate. Hmm…

Five things I like about Replate:

1. It gets people thinking and talking about food waste and hunger

2. We send too much food to landfills and this will help some.

3. The clever logo I wish I’d thought of.

4. The sentiment.

5. It’s catchy, simple and spreading virally as you read this. Nice use of the web.

Five things I don’t like about Replate:

1. Calling this activism sets the bar really low.

2. I’d rather encourage people to order less and restaurants to stop serving gigantic portions.

3. Why not just give the food to a homeless person? More of a sure thing and promotes interaction.

4. Great for big cities, but what about elsewhere? Any other ideas?

5. In San Francisco, Replaters should go one step further: leave leftovers atop food waste bins (for convenience in case it rots).

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