UK household food waste falls by 13%

Household food and drink waste has fallen by 13% over a three-and-a-half year period, a report published today (November 15) by WRAP has revealed.

However the report, New estimates for household food and drink waste in the UK, found that UK households are still disposing of 12 billion worth of food and drink a year, two thirds of which is avoidable.

Figures for 2010 show that food waste has reduced by 1.1 million tonnes from 8.3 million tonnes in 2006/07 (see letsrecycle.com story), to 7.2 million tonnes a year.

The study found an 18% reduction in avoidable food waste, food which was edible prior to disposal, as the main driving force of the overall reduction. Possibly avoidable food waste, food that only some people eat such as bread crusts and potato skins, and unavoidable food waste, food that cannot be eaten such as egg shells, teabags and pineapple skin, were also seen to drop by 5%.

WRAP state that the decrease is broadly consistent with the decrease in the amount of food and drink purchased for consumption. It said that the tough economic climate and rising food prices had undoubtedly contributed to the desire to maximise the value of food that is bought by UK households.

Zero waste

Commenting on the reduction Dr Liz Goodwin, chief executive of WRAP, said: All the governments of the UK which fund our work have the goal of moving swiftly towards a zero waste society. Their priority is to find ways of tackling waste, including food waste, and keep scarce resources in use for as long as possible.

The report presents new estimates of food and drink waste from UK homes in 2010. The figures were last updated in 2009 from WRAPs original research which was conducted in 2007/08. The new estimates were presented today at WRAPs annual conference in London.

WRAP also launched its campaign Love Food Hate Waste in 2007 (see letsrecycle.com story) in a move to help reduce the 8 billion of food sent to landfill each year.

The value of food waste remains at 12 billion, the same as in 2007, however WRAP claimed this was due to food prices rising. If levels of food waste had remained the same UK households would be spending up to 2.5 billion more than they are now.

WRAP concluded the report by stating: Although the findings presented in the report are extremely positive, it is important to recognise that household waste remains the single largest contributor to overall UK food waste at around 50% of the total.

BRC

Commenting on the food waste research, Bob Gordon, head of environment at the British Retail Consortium, said retailers could claim some credit for helping to reduce food waste by supporting their customers.

He said: “Not all food waste is avoidable, bones and peelings for example, but the scale of the waste reduction achieved shows retailers successfully educating and encouraging customers to change the way they buy and manage food. Its also good to see local authorities taking more responsibility. Rising numbers of separate collections are making more households aware of their food waste and the need to tackle it.”