Food waste prevention drive kicks off in Scotland

A national campaign has been launched in Scotland to encourage people reduce the environmental and financial impact of food waste.

According to the Scottish Government, avoidable food waste costs the average Scottish household 430 a year, with a fifth of the food and drink people buy being thrown away. Avoidable food waste costs the country 1 billion a year and creates greenhouse gases.

The campaign advises householders to take simple steps to reduce food waste including: Checking cupboards and writing a list before shopping; planning meals in advance; sensible portion planning; checking date labelling and storage information; using up or freezing leftovers and freezing.

Launching the food waste campaign yesterday (October 8), Scottish Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said: “We all waste food but by making a few simple changes to the way we plan our meals, to our weekly food shopping, to using up leftovers and to better storage, we can help our pockets and the environment too. If we stopped avoidable food waste wed save around 35 per household per month.

“The new food waste reduction campaign aims to benefit everyone by providing practical help and advice, it seeks to empower everyone to shop smarter, waste less, save more and help create a greener, cleaner Scotland now and for the future.”

Targets

The Scottish Government has set itself targets to reduce CO2 by 42% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. This includes a ban on food waste, from landfill by the end of 2020, which it says will help reduce emissions.

It claims that reducing food waste is seven times better for the environment than any recycling option, but sometimes recycling cant be avoided and so food recycling services are now being rolled out in towns and cities across Scotland. This can be used to generate renewable energy and fertiliser for Scottish farmers.

Councils

The campaignhas beenwelcomed by councils in Scotland.

Councillor Stephen Hagan, spokesperson for Development, Economy and Sustainability at the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) said: “COSLA is pleased to support the food waste prevention campaign. COSLA welcomes this campaign and the focus on prevention in the first instance as this has the dual advantage of being good for the environment and for household budgets.

“Good progress has been made but reducing council budgets will come under more pressure to continue this direction of travel. Small steps by individuals to tackle food waste will make continuing this progress an easier task in hard times.”