Scottish households needlessly waste £1 billion of food each year
The most detailed study of its kind has highlighted the £1 billion of food needlessly thrown away by Scottish households each year. This massive financial and environmental burden is described in a new report, The Food We Waste in Scotland, published today by WRAP Scotland.
The report reveals that Scottish households throw out 570,000 tonnes of food and drink each year, most of which could have been avoided if it had been planned, stored or prepared better. This is a loss to the average household of £430 every year. For families with children it is higher at £550 – a significant chunk of the family budget.
Launching the report, Iain Gulland, WRAP Director for Scotland said:
“This new research shows the massive financial and environmental burden of food waste.
“Scottish households are throwing out huge amounts of food, most of which could have been eaten, and this costs us dearly. Not only are we paying for this food at the checkout, we are also paying to dispose of it through our council tax. This is a terrible waste in these difficult economic times.”
Based on a survey of 1,169 homes across Scotland, the most common items thrown away were milk (31,000 tonnes), sliced bread (25,000 tonnes), fizzy drinks (23,000 tonnes), potatoes (19,000 tonnes) and ready meals or snacks (14,000 tonnes).
In addition, 96,000 tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables were binned. If these had been eaten, they could have contributed 1 billion portions of our recommended 5-a-day intake.
Half of the good food thrown out for council collection was whole and uneaten, with one in seven items still in their packaging. At least £18 million worth of the latter was still within its ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ date.
Collecting and disposing of food waste costs councils an estimated £85 million a year. The environmental cost is also high as a result of all the energy involved with producing, transporting, packaging and storing the food, and as a result of methane, a damaging greenhouse gas, emitted from the wasted food rotting in landfill sites. If this avoidable food waste had been consumed it would prevent the equivalent of 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere each year – roughly the same as taking one car in every four off Scotland’s roads.
Commenting on this ground-breaking report, Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said:
“I'm sure most people would agree that it's shocking to think that society needlessly wastes £1 billion of food each year in Scotland. As well as the financial strain on households, the equivalent of £8 to £10 a week, food and packaging add considerably to our waste stream.
“Food waste is one of many issues currently being addressed in the Government’s draft Zero Waste Plan, which I would urge people to have their say on. The Plan is about everyone making smarter day-to-day choices that will take us further down the road towards becoming a zero waste society.”
Dr Nicki Souter, Zero Waste Scotland Campaign Manager, added:
“This report being so detailed truly shows the public how much food is currently wasted in Scotland. The reasons we waste are food are that we cook or prepare too much or we buy things and then don’t use them in time.
There are many small changes householders can make to the way they manage their food, which can dramatically reduce their food waste and put that money back in their pocket, for example, planning food shopping and storing food correctly. The Love Food Hate Waste website: www.wasteawarelovefood.org.uk offers a host of hints, tips and simple recipes to enable people to make the most of the food they buy.”
Editor's notes
Food Waste Key Facts:
- Scottish households throw out 570,000 tonnes of food waste a year.
- Of this, more than two-thirds (69%) is avoidable – it could have been eaten if it was planned, stored, prepared or managed better.
- This avoidable share costs Scottish households £1 billion a year at 2008 prices. That works out as £430 per household, or £550 for an average family with children.
- The most commonly wasted food groups (in terms of avoidable waste) are:
> Drinks (70,000 tonnes, worth £140m);
> Fresh vegetables (62,000 tonnes, worth £100m);
> Bakery (46,000 tonnes, worth £90m);
> Fresh fruit (34,000 tonnes, worth £70m); and
> Meat and fish (20,000 tonnes, worth £130m). - Avoidable food waste is generated because we have bought food and allowed it to go mouldy or go past its ‘use-by’ date, and because of over generous portioning, both from cooking at home and buying food from takeaways.
- More than half of all avoidable food waste is thrown out untouched - i.e. as whole units – and one in seven items is still in its packaging.
- At least £18 million worth of food thrown out in its packaging is still in-date.
- Around three-fifths of all food waste (340,000 tonnes) is disposed of via council collections, either in mixed waste or recycling collections. The rest is put down the sink, fed to pets or composted at home.
- Collecting and disposing of waste food costs councils an estimated £85 million a year.
- In terms of environmental impact – producing, storing and getting the food to our homes uses a lot of energy. The carbon impact of food waste is enormous. If this waste was stopped it would save associated greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking one in four cars off the road.
- The Love Food Hate Waste campaign aims to raise awareness of the issue of food waste and to support people to reduce the amount of food they waste. For more information visit www.wasteawarelovefood.org.uk.
The Food We Waste in Scotland Report:
This study, the most detailed of its type ever undertaken in Scotland, consisted of a detailed survey of households and a physical analysis of their waste.
Researchers interviewed a representative sample of 1,558 householders in seven local authority areas during Autumn 2008. Participants were given the chance to opt out of the research at this stage, and then several weeks later, waste from 1,169 households across Scotland was collected for analysis - with their consent.
All food waste was then weighed, sorted and categorised into one of 14 food groups and 170 food types.
Generic Notes:
- WRAP helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change.
- Established as a not-for-profit company in 2000, WRAP is backed by government funding from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Working in seven key areas (Construction, Retail, Manufacturing, Organics, Business Growth, Behavioural Change, and Local Authority Support), WRAP’s work focuses on market development and support to drive forward recycling and materials resource efficiency within these sectors, as well as wider communications and awareness activities including the multi-media national Recycle Now campaign for England.
- More information on all of WRAP Scotland’s programmes can be found on www.wrapscotland.org.uk