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Food waste has a critical impact upon our environment, and it’s estimated that between 30% and 50% of all food produced globally actually goes to waste.
Food waste has a critical impact upon our environment, and it’s estimated that between 30% and 50% of all food produced globally actually goes to waste. This is an eye opening fact, particularly when considering the numbers of malnourished and starving people in the world. In the UK, between 18 and 20 million tonnes of food is wasted each year. Putting this in perspective for UK households with kids, it amounts to about £60 of food waste each month, and giving a total of about £700 each year.
At least 50% of UK food waste is binned by householders, and at least half of this 7 million tonne total consists of food or drink that can be safely consumed. The main reasons so much food and drink is wasted from average households is because:
The remaining 50% of UK food waste is generated by manufacturers and retailers. Retailers contribute 1.6 million tonnes to the food waste tips, food manufacturers create 4.1 million tonnes of food waste, and restaurants add 3 million tonnes to food waste. Every tonne of food that’s wasted in the UK is responsible for creating 4.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Growers and suppliers of UK fruits and vegetables will reject between 20% and 40% of all products before they even reach retailers and markets.
Types of food wasted most include bread and cakes, fresh fruit and veggies, salads, and drinks. From an environmental perspective 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions from the UK are from food waste. Halting all global food waste would be as beneficial as taking 25% of the world’s cars off the road. What’s more food waste is reckoned to add up to 4% of the water footprint created by the UK, in addition to the above scary facts.
These facts and figures are frightening and a wake up call to UK businesses and householders. There is a little good news about food waste, however, since 2007 avoidable food waste has been reduced by more than 20%. This means that over one million tonnes of food has not ended up on UK rubbish tips.
