Britain’s homes and businesses wasting millions of tons of food every year

Press Release

Nation’s shame as money and resources literally sent to landfill

Households, supermarkets and restaurants are all guilty of wasting hundreds of millions of pounds worth of food every single year, a leading UK-wide waste management company says.

Citing both government figures and its own experience of waste collection, Business Waste says that all sectors of British society are equally guilty of behaviour that literally sends huge quantities of perfectly good food to landfill.

According to government statistics, half of the 7.2 million tons of food and drink discarded by UK homes is food that could still have been eaten, costing an average household with children up to £700 annually.

“Households are just the tip of this massive iceberg,” said BusinessWaste.co.uk ‘s Mark Hall, “supermarkets, businesses and the restaurant industry are just as wasteful, if not more so.

“Two-thirds of food waste comes from food producers themselves, supermarkets and the restaurant trade, and most of it goes straight to landfill. It’s a bad habit that we as a nation just can’t sustain.”

According to BusinessWaste.co.uk , it’s not just the big players like supermarkets and major fast food chains who are guilty. Equally wasteful are the smaller shops, workplace canteens, and smaller restaurants and cafes.

Many firms are guilty of greater waste by not separating their recycling, meaning that food waste that could be composted or otherwise recycled is sent to landfill.

“We applaud Tesco for their recent pledge to reduce the amount of waste they produce – not only in store, but in their whole supply chain,” Mark said, “even if it involves knowingly selling less to their customers.

“It’s a brave move, and we hope that households realise they can carry on the good work with just a few minor changes to their behaviour.”

Tips for saving food:

• Plan your meals ahead
• Only buy what you’re going to need
• Keep a careful eye on “Use by” dates when buying
• Ask whether you really need the “Buy one, get one free deal” on something you wouldn’t normally purchase
• Compost your kitchen waste and recycle wrapping where possible

“It’s ironic that we’d be doing ourselves out of business if everybody reduced their waste,” said Mark, “But we really are all in this together”.

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