FOOD WASTE: THE UNAPPETISING TRUTH
The UK wastes enough food and drink each year to fill 5,304 Olympic-sized swimming pools
THE UK wastes £13 billion of perfectly good food and drink every year.
A report by Water and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) found 4.4 million tonnes of food and drink is being “avoidably” discarded.
That is enough to fill 5,304 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Around 2.2 million tonnes is food that is thrown away untouched or unfinished.
That might include half loaves of bread, unused slices of bacon, and fruit and veg that has gone out-of-date. WRAP estimates this type of waste alone is worth £5.6 billion a year. A further 1.3 million tonnes of avoidable waste comes from food and drink that we cook, prepare, or serve too much of essentially leftovers. This has an estimated value of £4.1 billion. Accidents (such as spilt milk) and “personal preference” (such as unwanted food gifts) account for a further 0.9 million tonnes, annually - or £2.8 billion worth.
In addition to the 4.4 million tonnes of avoidable waste, a further 1.3 million tonnes of food and drink waste is classed as “possibly avoidable”.
That refers to things like potato skins and bread crusts that some, but not all, people would consume.
Only 1.6 million tonnes of food and drink waste - such as tea bags, eggshells, bones and banana skins - is classed as “unavoidable and unsuitable for consumption”.
Around 3.5 million tonnes of the avoidable food waste we generate each year is disposed of in landfills or sewers.
Only a small amount is recycled or turned into animal feed.
When waste food and drink reaches landfill sites it emits methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.
The average UK household spends £470 on food that could have been eaten but is instead thrown away - a figure that rises to £700 in households with children.
Marcus Gover, chief executive of WRAP, said: “It is incredibly challenging to reduce food waste, and the stalling of progress shows just how difficult it is. “I’m calling on all businesses, organisations, campaigners and NGOs who work in this area to unite together in in the fight against food waste. “By working together we can win this battle. “It’s not just businesses that need to unite in the food waste fight. Every person in the UK can help. “WRAP’s research found that almost 60 per cent of people believe they personally waste either no food or hardly any, even though people know food waste is an issue.”