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Use your loaf and save billions
7th November 2013
The average UK household throws away the
equivalent of six meals every week*, costing us
as a nation 12.5 billion a year, or almost 60 a
month to the average family**, despite a
significant drive to reduce food waste a new
report reveals.
The ground-breaking report into UK food waste by WRAP,
also reveals that since 2007 we have cut avoidable
household food waste by an impressive 21%, which saved
cash strapped consumers almost 13 billion***. Yet we still
throw away a staggering 4.2 million tonnes (Mt) of
household food, which could have been eaten. Almost half
of this food goes straight from our fridges or cupboards to
the bin and doesnt even make it onto our dinner plates.
WRAP has also carried out work which shows it could be
possible to reduce avoidable household food waste by a
further 1.7 million tonnes a year by 2025. Given the financial
and environmental benefits of such a reduction to the UK,
WRAPs CEO, Dr Liz Goodwin will today call for a "major
combined effort" with retailers, brands, governments and
consumers to work together towards a common goal. This
could result in the UK halving avoidable food waste by 2025
compared to when we started work on this in 2007, thereby
saving consumers and Local Authorities billions of pounds.
The top three foods that Britons are throwing away uneaten
include every day essentials: bread, potatoes and milk. The
equivalent of a staggering 24 million slices of bread, 5.8
million potatoes and 5.9 million glasses of milk are wasted
daily****. Chicken also made the top ten with the equivalent
of 86 million chickens thrown away each year, despite being
the nations favourite meat. Sweet treats like cake make the
list too.
Buying more than we need, lack of clarity around storage
and labelling and over-estimating portions are just some of
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the reasons for the waste, reveals WRAPs pioneering
report into the actual waste we generate - Household Food
and Drink Waste in the UK 2012 - published today.
The report updates WRAP's 2007 ground-breaking report
The Food We Waste which exposed the full scale of the
food waste problem for the first time. Detailing what foods
are wasted most, how much food is wasted in UK homes,
why and how we waste it and how much that waste costs.
But it's not all doom and gloom; the UK has made great
progress. The total amount of household food and drink
waste has reduced by 1.3Mt to 7Mt since 2007 and
avoidable food and drink waste has reduced by 1.1Mt from
5.3Mt to 4.2Mt. However, the rate of reduction has slowed
in recent years. The 21% reduction in avoidable food waste
is down to millions of consumers doing things differently in
the home such as buying the right amounts, storing and
freezing foods to keep them fresher for longer and making
more use of leftovers.
This has been supported by a number of factors including
local authority initiatives and changes to packaging,
including clearer date labels by retailers and brands.
Consumers are also more aware of how to store and use
their food more effectively with advice from Love Food Hate
Waste which provides simple yet effective advice, tips and
recipes, celebrity chefs, and other consumer campaigns.
The increase in food prices has also had an impact.
By reducing avoidable food waste by over a fifth, UK
householders have saved billions every year with 3.3 billion
in 2012 alone, wasting less of their fruit, and home-made
and pre-prepared meals than they were before for
example. Many of the households WRAP interviewed earlier
this year also stated they were making better use of their
leftovers than they used to.
Dr Liz Goodwin, WRAP Chief Executive Officer, said:
"Consumers are seriously worried about the cost of food
and how it has increased over recent years. Yet as
WRAPs research shows, we are still wasting millions of
tonnes and billions of pounds.
"The UK is leading the way in tackling food waste and the
21% cut is a terrific achievement by millions of people who
have taken action, saved money and helped safeguard our
natural resources. However, there is so much more to go
for and I believe we should be going for it.
"Research by WRAP shows that if we all make a major
combined effort to act now, we can save up to 45
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billion*****, by 2025. It won't be easy but what a prize if we
achieve it. I commit that food waste will remain a top
priority for WRAP and we will be pleased to work with
those who share my aspiration."
Dan Rogerson MP Parliamentary Undersecretary of State
for Resource Management at Defra said: Cutting avoidable
household food waste by 21 percent is great news but
there is still more to do. Everyone has a role to play in
reducing food waste and we want to see businesses
helping consumers to waste less food.
"Cutting waste and driving business innovation will help to
build a stronger economy. We will continue to work closely
with food retailers and manufacturers to achieve this goal."
Scottish Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said:
"Food waste is a global challenge which all of us -
Government, individuals and businesses have a
responsibility to address. As well as our work with retailers
and major brands, last years Scotland-wide food waste
prevention campaign combined awareness raising with
practical tips on how to reduce waste at home. The
Scottish Government has invested 20 million to help local
authorities roll-out food waste collections to households
across the country, resulting in over one million households
in Scotland now having a service to collect and recycle their
food waste."
Wales' Minister for Natural Resources and Food, Alun
Davies, said: "Tackling avoidable food waste is key to
Wales moving towards zero waste, so I welcome the
findings of this report. Welsh households have made good
progress in reducing the amount of food we waste, but
there is still more to be done. As food costs rise, we can all
take steps to save money and make the most of the food
we have bought."
Northern Ireland Environment Minister, Mark H Durkan said:
"In the 21st century it is disgraceful that we are wasting so
much food, as well as the related energy and water
resources associated with food production. This wastage is
even more unacceptable when we consider citizens
suffering from poverty and at risk of malnutrition in our
society and the millions going hungry across the globe.
"Although progress has been made in reducing food waste
we cannot be complacent; we must all act to eradicate this
smear on our lifestyles. I see tackling food waste as a key
priority for my Department. The recently published Waste
Management Strategy will provide a range of measures to
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reduce food waste, from the proposed introduction of food
waste restrictions for landfill through to actions within the
Waste Prevention Programme.
"The encouraging message is that we can all play our part
right now - by making food waste socially unacceptable and
by starting to take steps to reduce food waste through
simple actions such as using a shopping list to buy only
what you need, better planning of meals, correct storage of
food and preparing and cooking the right portion sizes."
Ends
* Assumes 500g per meal.
** The 12.5 billion refers to the whole population; the 60
per month is for families with children.
*** A combined saving from 2007-2012.
**** Equivalent representations - for example if you took all
the avoidable potato waste and added it together, it weighs
the same as 5.8 million potatoes.
***** A combined saving from 2012 to 2025
Link to report www.wrap.org.uk/household-food-waste (/household-
food-waste)
The contractors who carried out the research which the report is
based on are:
www.exodusresearch.com (http://www.exodusresearch.com)
www.ipsos-mori.com (http://www.ipsos-mori.com)
www.resourcefutures.co.uk (http://www.resourcefutures.co.uk)
About WRAP
1. WRAP works with businesses, individuals and communities to
help them reap the benefits of reducing waste, developing
sustainable products and using resources in an efficient way.
2. Established as a not-for-profit company in 2000, WRAP is
backed by government funding from England, Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland.
3. More information on all of WRAP's programmes can be found on
www.wrap.org.uk
Contact
Seona Shuttleworth
PR Officer
seona.shuttleworth@wrap.org.uk
(mailto:seona.shuttleworth@wrap.org.uk)
01295 817872
Shona O'Donovan
PR Manager
shona.odonovan@wrap.org.uk (mailto:shona.odonovan@wrap.org.uk)
01295 819690
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ROLE
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