An Apple a Day Gets Thrown Away
A staggering 4.4 million* whole apples are being thrown away untouched every day in the UK, according to the latest figures from Love Food Hate Waste, WRAP’s (Waste & Resources Action Programme) campaign to tackle food being wasted in UK homes. The figures show that in total we bin nearly £3 billion worth of perfectly good fruit and vegetables each year.
This sad fact illustrates Love Food Hate Waste campaign’s figures that a third of the food we buy, or 6.7 million tonnes, gets thrown out from UK homes annually, most of which could have been eaten. Fruit and vegetables make up a huge 40% of this. The top five fruit & vegetables which get binned without even being touched are apples, potatoes, bananas, tomatoes and oranges.
In response to these findings, WRAP has been leading a team including Sainsbury’s, to find out why we are wasting so much fresh produce, and what can be done about it. The study ** shows the main reason why we throw so much out is because we simply do not eat it before it goes off, and we could be making the problem worse, by not storing fruit and vegetables in the best place once we bring it home from the shops.
For example, more than half of us choose to leave fruit out at room temperature, rather than keeping it cool, but WRAP’s new research shows that by simply storing most fresh fruit and vegetables inside the fridge, these foods stay fresh for much longer – sometimes by as much as a fortnight.
Dr Liz Goodwin, WRAP Chief Executive comments: “These dramatic figures show that although we are all keen to do the right thing buying plenty of fruit and vegetables, the benefit is clearly being lost when food gets thrown out untouched”. She adds “By following some simple tips and advice which can be found on our website, we can all be saving money as well as helping the environment.”
In support of the Love Food Hate Waste Campaign, and as part of the research Sainsbury’s is trialling new storage guidance to customers both in store and on its website. Findings from the research will be shared with all retailers.
Sainsbury’s head of brand policy and sustainability, Alison Austin, says: “In light of this research Sainsbury’s are advising shoppers to store their loose fruit and vegetables in the fridge. We are tackling the task in two ways: showing shoppers how to keep their food fresh for longer, and then inspiring them to use it in lots of different ways.” Ms Austin concludes: “The benefits of keeping most fruit and veg in the fridge include higher nutrient levels and a better flavour than if they’re left at room temperature”.
Love Food Hate Waste is providing detailed tips on storing different types of fruit and vegetables, to keep them at their freshest for longer, at http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/, along with a new range quick and easy recipes so we can enjoy these foods, not waste them.
Editor's notes:
1. Research information:
* These figures represent early findings from WRAP research which will provide detailed information about the nature, amount and origin of food waste produced by UK households. This work is nearing completion and will be published in May 2008
** “Helping consumers to store fresh fruit & vegetables in the home, and prevent waste.” This WRAP research will be published at project completion. Summer 2008.
2. Top 5 fruit & vegetable league table by estimated tonnage of waste per annum
Top 5 of avoidable fruit & vegetables wasted in UK | Estimated tonnage of waste per annum | Numbers of avoidable fruit & vegetables wasted per day |
Apples | 179000 | 4,400,000 |
Potatoes | 177000 | 5,100,000 |
Bananas | 78000 | 1,600,000 |
Tomatoes | 46000 | 2,800,000 |
Oranges | 45000 | 1,200,000 |
3. Key Facts from the Love Food Hate Waste campaign:
- In the UK we are throwing away one third of the food we buy. That’s like one in three bagfuls of food shopping going straight in the bin.
- We throw away 6.7 tonnes of food each year in the UK, when most of this food could have been eaten. (Its not just peelings and bones –its good food).That’s equivalent to filling Wembley Stadium with food waste 8 times over!
- In terms of environmental impact – producing, storing and getting the food to our homes uses a lot of energy. If we stopped wasting all this food, it would save the equivalent of at least 15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. That’s like taking 1 in 5 cars off UK roads.
- Most of this food reaches landfill sites where it emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
- High economic cost – at least £8bn worth of food that could have been eaten is thrown out every year. That’s the cost to our pockets as consumers. UK householders are throwing out on average more than £400/year.
- We throw food out for two main reasons: we cook or prepare too much; and we let food go off.
4. Details of Sainsbury’s advice on fruit & vegetables:
- Shelf labels will go into all stores in the fruit and vegetable aisles from 7th April, reading ‘refrigerate for freshness’ (apart from bananas and pineapples, the only fruits not suited to refrigeration)
- The www.sainsburys.co.uk will feature precise storage advice for all the most popular fruit and vegetables, together with recipes tailored to fruit and veg that might be past their peak
- From April the Sainsbury’s Try Something New magazine will feature a new section, “3 ways with…” offering recipe suggestions for fruit and veg in season.
5. Generic Footnote:
- For more information on the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, visit: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
- Key findings of our recent research on the nature, scale and causes of household food waste can be found at: http://www.wrap.org.uk/retail/food_waste/index.html
- 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's programmes can be found on www.wrap.org.uk
