The average UK household throws away the equivalent of six meals every week, costing £12.5 billion a year, or almost £60 a month to the average family, according to a new report published today.
Since 2007, the UK has cut household food waste by 21%, yet a 'staggering' 4.2 million tonnes of food is thrown away.
Given the financial and environmental benefits of such a reduction to the UK, WRAP’s CEO, Dr Liz Goodwin will today call for a "major combined effort" with retailers, brands, governments and consumers to work together towards a common goal. This could result in the UK halving avoidable food waste by 2025.
The top three foods that Britons are throwing away uneaten include every day essentials: bread, potatoes and milk. The equivalent of 24 million slices of bread, 5.8 million potatoes and 5.9 million glasses of milk are wasted daily. Chicken also made the top ten with the equivalent of 86 million chickens thrown away each year.
Dr Liz Goodwin, WRAP Chief Executive Officer, said: "Consumers are seriously worried about the cost of food and how it has increased over recent years. Yet as WRAP’s research shows, we are still wasting millions of tonnes and billions of pounds.
"The UK is leading the way in tackling food waste and the 21% cut is a terrific achievement by millions of people who have taken action, saved money and helped safeguard our natural resources. However, there is so much more to go for and I believe we should be going for it.
"Research by WRAP shows that if we all make a major combined effort to act now, we can save up to £45 billion, by 2025. It won't be easy but what a prize if we achieve it. I commit that food waste will remain a top priority for WRAP and we will be pleased to work with those who share my aspiration."
Dan Rogerson MP Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Resource Management at Defra said: “Cutting avoidable household food waste by 21 percent is great news but there is still more to do. Everyone has a role to play in reducing food waste and we want to see businesses helping consumers to waste less food.
"Cutting waste and driving business innovation will help to build a stronger economy. We will continue to work closely with food retailers and manufacturers to achieve this goal."
Scottish Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said: "Food waste is a global challenge which all of us - Government, individuals and businesses have a responsibility to address. As well as our work with retailers and major brands, last year’s Scotland-wide food waste prevention campaign combined awareness raising with practical tips on how to reduce waste at home. The Scottish Government has invested £20 million to help local authorities roll-out food waste collections to households across the country, resulting in over one million households in Scotland now having a service to collect and recycle their food waste."
Wales' Minister for Natural Resources and Food, Alun Davies, said: "Tackling avoidable food waste is key to Wales moving towards zero waste, so I welcome the findings of this report. Welsh households have made good progress in reducing the amount of food we waste, but there is still more to be done. As food costs rise, we can all take steps to save money and make the most of the food we have bought."
Northern Ireland Environment Minister, Mark H Durkan said: "In the 21st century it is disgraceful that we are wasting so much food, as well as the related energy and water resources associated with food production. This wastage is even more unacceptable when we consider citizens suffering from poverty and at risk of malnutrition in our society and the millions going hungry across the globe.
"Although progress has been made in reducing food waste we cannot be complacent; we must all act to eradicate this smear on our lifestyles. I see tackling food waste as a key priority for my Department. The recently published Waste Management Strategy will provide a range of measures to reduce food waste, from the proposed introduction of food waste restrictions for landfill through to actions within the Waste Prevention Programme.
"The encouraging message is that we can all play our part right now - by making food waste socially unacceptable and by starting to take steps to reduce food waste through simple actions such as using a shopping list to buy only what you need, better planning of meals, correct storage of food and preparing and cooking the right portion sizes."
Reacting to today’s figures, Andrew Opie, British Retail Consortium (BRC) Director of Food and Sustainability, said: “There’s plenty to be pleased about in these figures. Avoidable household food waste has been reduced by 21 per cent since 2007 and the progress is all the more impressive if one accounts for the growth of one million new households within that time. Cutting food waste in the home needs to be one of the UK’s biggest environmental priorities.
“Retailers know they are judged by the value they offer consumers, which means not only selling food at the right price but also making sure we can make the most of it. A range of approaches, including giving clear storage advice and recipe ideas, offering a wider range of portion sizes, and developing innovative packaging that extends the shelf life of products, has helped to drive significant reductions in the amount of food and drink we throw away.
“WRAP is right to highlight that combined efforts and effective partnership working will be key to delivering further reductions. Retailers accept that challenge and have recently committed to working with food manufacturers to cut total household food waste by a further 5 per cent by 2015. They’ll continue to accompany their own work with close engagement with schemes like Fresher for Longer and Love Food Hate Waste to ensure that momentum is sustained.”
