Food waste up as lockdown eases, WRAP finds 

The resources charity said that research it conducted in June, ‘Food Waste and Covid-19 Lockdown Easing’, shows that self-reported waste has increased by 30%, compared to the early stages of lockdown.

As a result, WRAP is launching a new ‘Keep Crushing It’ campaign , which it hopes will motivate people to maintain commitment to wasting less food.

This will encourage people to keep up their “pre-shop planning, smart storage, and creative cooking”, as well as explaining the impact this will have on the planet and  the cost of their food shop.

Research

The research found that while there were concerns of supermarkets stocks depleting in April, which in turn made people committed to wasting less food, these motivations have waned with the easing of lockdown measures.

WRAP added that with pressures of normal life resuming, commitment to wasting less food is “no longer a priority”.

In the first phase of the research in April, people reported adopting new behaviours to manage food better, and a self-reported reduction in waste food as a whole, compared to pre-lockdown levels.

The figures from June however, show that levels of wasted food have begun to rebound with the average self-reported amount across four key products (bread, milk, potatoes and chicken) currently at 18%, up from 14% in April.

Levels of reported food waste were additionally notably higher among those who worked fewer hours during lockdown and have now returned their usual working pattern. WRAP said that 62% classify as having higher levels of waste, compared to the national average of 27%.

The 53% and 40% of people who worked from home or were furloughed during lockdown and have now returned to normal, also reported higher levels of food waste, as did those with children who returned to school post-lockdown.

The research concluded that pre-shop planning is the behaviour people can see themselves continuing after lockdown.

‘Widening impact’

Peter Maddox, director of WRAP UK, said: “We’ve seen clearly how effective the Love Food Hate Waste messages and tools are – we need to reach more people to widen our impact.

“Our partners have a key role to play in amplifying the ‘Keep Crushing It’ campaign, whether they are from across the supply chain, local and national governments, or charities and not-for-profits. The more novel and innovative ways we find to engage with new audiences about this, the greater our chance of meeting the crucial target of halving wasted food by 2030.”