To conclude, it must be noted that no single solution will be truly effective on its own – for maximum impact, a combination of government intervention, community initiative, as well as education, should be used. In my opinion, this problem largely requires a bottom-up approach. People need to choose to make lifestyle changes on their own. People like autonomy, as opposed to being forced. In addition, behavioural changes that are made voluntarily are likely to be longer-lasting.

However, the government can help to drive this attitude change by (a) acknowledging that this is a problem (b) spreading consistent messages. Education is an especially useful tool as a long term solution where changing societal norms can lead to changes in behaviour at a population level, rather than being confined to individuals. Regardless of the solutions implemented, it should be noted that constant reviews and re-evaluations should be conducted, to ensure that the solutions are still relevant and effective.

Ultimately, while there are also other more pressing, more salient, environmental issues, I feel that this problem of too much takeaway is a problem that does not need to exist. To me, this situation should at least be treated as an area of improvement, as we do have a large degree of control over our actions.