An estimated £420 worth of food is thrown away each year per
household in the UK. This means a third of all food we buy ends up in the bin
because it wasn't used in time or too much was cooked.
Most food waste ends up in landfill sites where it rots and
releases methane, a damaging greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.
The
food we throw away also wastes the huge amount of energy, water and packaging
used in its production, transportation and storage. Cutting down food waste
could save the same amount of carbon dioxide as taking 1 in 5 cars off the
road.
Here are some good
facts about waste in the UK.
•
Around 600 million tonnes
of products and materials enter the UK economy each year… only 115 million tonnes of this gets
recycled. This is an estimate coming from Wrap.
•
Between now and the end of 2020, WRAP estimates that electronic
products purchased in the UK will total around 10 million tonnes. A quarter of this will comprise of IT
equipment, consumer electronics and display screens. This 10 million tonnes
will include precious metals, such as 20
tonnes of gold, 400 tonnes of silver and 7 tonnes of Platinum Group Metals.
These have a total estimated market value of £1.5 billion [Dec 13].
•
Nearly 25% of waste
electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) that’s taken to
household waste recycling centres could be re-used, worth around £200m gross a year.
•
We throw away more than 7
million tonnes of food and drink every year from our homes - most of
which could have been safely consumed.
•
UK hospitality sector (hotels, pubs, restaurants and quick service
restaurants) could save £724 million a
year by tackling food waste.
•
By pursuing opportunties for re-use, the UK could reduce its reliance on raw materials,
including rare earths, by as much as
20% by 2020.
Our
research shows doubling the number of
sofas re-used, could save 52,000
tonnes of CO2 equivalent. At the moment, 83% of sofas
are not re-used and are sent to landfill or recycled.
What
can I do?
• Plan meals and stick to a shopping
list. Don't shop when you are hungry as you may buy food that won't get eaten.
• Check the 'use by' date of products to
make sure they will last until needed.
• Don't buy bulk offers unless you are
sure you are going to eat them.
• Check freezer contents before going
shopping. Food is often forgotten at the back and ends up being thrown away.
• Set your fridge between 1°C and 5°C and
store food in resalable containers to make it last longer.
• Measure out food like pasta, rice and
potatoes so you don't cook too much.
• Freeze left over home cooked food to
use at a later date.
• Turn your leftover food into other
dishes such as soups, pies, casseroles, and stir fries.
What
about unavoidable food waste?
Some
food waste such as peelings, cores and bones can't be avoided. However, these
can be safely composted at home.
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