Waverley Borough Council is supporting the second annual Food Waste Action Week, as part of its commitment to reducing waste, tackling climate change and creating a more sustainable borough.
The campaign, which runs from 7-13 March and is led by WRAP, one of the UK’s leading sustainability charities, aims to raise people’s awareness of the huge impact of household food waste on climate change and share practical advice, food savvy behaviours and tips on how we can all easily reduce the food we waste in our homes.
We throw away 6.6 million tonnes of household food waste a year in the UK. This food waste is responsible for nearly 25 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, equivalent to 5.4% of the UK’s territorial emissions. The majority, 4.5 million tonnes, is food that could have been eaten and is worth approximately £14 billion (or £60 a month an average family with two children). It requires an area almost the size of Wales to produce all the food and drink currently wasted in the UK.
Councillor Steve Williams, Waverley Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Environment and Sustainability, said:
“The figures are shocking and show that we all need to make changes to improve the situation. In Waverley, where we set out our aims to become carbon-neutral by 2030, and provide a food waste collection service to almost every home, a staggering 5,000 tonnes of food waste ended up in grey bins instead of food caddies last year. This shows there’s still some work to be done in our borough too.
“I would urge those residents who currently have a food waste bin to please keep up the good work and keep using it. if you don’t have one, then you can order a caddy for just £7 and we will collect weekly. Recycling food waste is not only good for the planet but by managing food buying and portion sizes, good for your pocket too!”
To find out more about Waverley Borough Council’s food waste service, order a bin and also find tips on how to reduce your own food waste, visit our Waverley Borough Council - What to put in which bin web page.
If you have in-date excess food that you cannot use, then you could donate it to a local community fridge or food bank. For details of where these are in Waverley, visit our Community Support web page.
Love Food Hate Waste runs an annual survey of people’s habits and knowledge around food waste. This highlighted that 81% of UK citizens are concerned about climate change, but only 32% see a clear link with food waste.