Food Waste 2024 - the facts (2024)

While there are many provisions in place to reduce food waste, the UK produces the highest amount of food waste in Europe.

• Over ⅓ of all food produced globally goes to waste.
• The UK throws away around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste in a single year – even though 8.4 million people in the UK are in food poverty.
• Billions of pounds are wasted each year when food is disposed of unnecessarily.

Food waste presents a significant problem due to the volume of waste that is produced each year. In fact, in the UK alone, it’s estimated that we throw away around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste annually. The vast majority of food waste ends up in a landfill site – which are already overcrowded. While many people do not view this as an issue as food items degrade naturally over time, it contributes heavily to global warming and the erosion of the OZ layer.

This is because food waste releases a great deal of methane gas as it breaks down. According to a report by theEPA, methane is 25 times more harmful than carbon dioxide because it can trap heat within the atmosphere.

Furthermore, food wastage is problematic from both a moral and economic standpoint. To put it simply, we throw away millions of pounds worth of food each year – even though many people across the globe go without fresh produce and groceries.

Whether you work within an office orfactory, you will likely produce some form of food waste on-site. For example, this could include food that your employees bring for lunch or to snack on throughout the day. To reduce food waste in the workplace, you could:

• Have a communal shelf – where employees can share food/drinks they no longer want.
• Provide your employees with access to a freezer alongside a fridge to give any leftovers a longer shelf life.
• Ensure fridges are cleaned out regularly, and employees dispose of any food that will pass its use-by date.
• Offer to pay for lunches for your employees – giving them notice so they do not bring their lunch with them.

Restaurants, alongside bars, and pubs, are clear contributors to food waste. They can reduce the volume of waste they produce by:

• Keeping track of their stock cupboards, ensuring they do not purchase excessive amounts of products.
• Pay attention to consumer habits and buying stock accordingly. For example, some dishes may be more popular during a particular season.
• Avoiding over buying stock.
• Storing food safely and correctly.
• Labelling all food clearly, with instructions on when it will need to be used.
• Donating leftover food to local charities or organisations.

Food waste also occurs every day within our homes. However, it can easily be reduced by:

• Pre-planning your meals so that you know exactly what to buy from the supermarket and do not waste money on groceries that will not get eaten.
• Cooking larger meals in bulk and freezing any leftovers to be enjoyed at a later date.
• Setting up a compost heap in your garden.
• Cleaning out your fridge regularly, ensuring that you are aware of all use-by dates.

According to a report by The Grocer, supermarkets throw away 100,000 of edible food annually in the UK alone. In fact, it’s estimated that the UK’s total food waste could feed upwards of 30 million people a year. As a result, supermarkets have a responsibility to reduce food waste as much as possible. This can be achieved by:

• • Training employees to be more aware of food waste and how it can be combated.
  • Carefully monitoring stock to ensure that everything that is purchased is sold.
  • Selling ‘damaged’ produce or produce that may not be aesthetically pleasing instead of throwing it away.
  • Reducing products that may be close to their sell-by date.
  • Donate surplus waste to charities or organisations.

While food waste is a product of just about any industry, it often occurs at places where the food is grown or produced – such as on farms. Thankfully, there are various steps farmers can take to reduce food waste. Such as:

• Investing in new technologies that make it easier to monitor and track crops’ growth minimises the chances of them being spoiled.
• Distributing goods to numerous facilities, whether that means local market stalls or chain supermarkets.
• Scheduling the growth of different crops to ensure as few crops are wasted as possible.
• Composting on-site.

As children can be notorious for throwing away the fruit you’ve packed into their lunchbox – it’s no surprise that food waste is a growing problem within schools. Food waste can be tackled in a school environment by:

• • Introducing an ordering system – where students decide what they would like to eat for lunch earlier in the day and the dishes are made accordingly.
  • Handling stock carefully and ensuring products are used before they expire.
  • Monitoring portion control carefully, ensuring that excessive amounts of food are not being served.
  • Informing students and staff of the dangers of food waste.

The fishing industry is another key contributor to food waste – for numerous reasons. For example, sometimes seafood is not considered fit for sale if it is damaged due to poor fishing practices. Fishing industry food waste can be reduced by:

• Refusing to discard fish at sea and finding alternative methods to dispose of surplus waste.
• Ensuring all fishermen are well-versed in efficient fishing and processing methods.
• Ensuring that all goods are labelled appropriately and stored by rigid health and safety guidelines.
• Paying attention to consumer trends and ensuring that products can be sold and distributed easily.

Knowing how to store food properly will reduce the amount of food waste you produce significantly. Here are some tips to get you started:

• Store raw meats on one of the lower shelves on your fridge to stop cross-contamination of products if there are any leaks.
• Keep goods that expire quickly at the front of your fridge so that you don’t forget about them.
• Clean out your fridge once a week and your freezer once a month.
• If you are meal-prepping or batch cooking, label each dish so that you can remember exactly when you cooked it.
• Ensure that you know how each food item should be stored – be that within the fridge or at room temperature. If you are unsure, check the packaging.