Freelance Writing Jobs | Today's Articles | sign in

Wasting Food Wastes Money

The Shocking Cost of Throwing Food Away

Sep 17, 2009 Ann Burnett

Every year, the average family in the UK wastes £420 on throwing out food. Some waste is made up of peelings, bones and fruit and vegetable cores, but the rest is usable.

In these days of economic belt tightening, any waste needs to be addressed and food waste costs us all money, not just in throwing it out but again in council tax to pay for it to be removed and disposed of.

What Kind of Foods are Being Wasted?

Each year in the UK, 6.7 million tonnes of food are thrown away. 40% of that is made up of fruit and vegetables. The top five most wasted foods are meat and fish, bread and bakery items, dairy produce and rice and pasta.

The Food We Waste in Scotland

A recent report entitled The Food We Waste in Scotland surveyed over a thousand homes in the country and came to the conclusion that massive amounts of food are being needlessly binned.

In Scotland, 70,000 tonnes of drinks are thrown away at a cost of £140 million. £170 million of fresh fruit and vegetables are binned uneaten and £130 million of meat and fish are discarded. 31,000 tonnes are milk are poured away and 14,000 tonnes of ready meals or snacks are discarded.

WRAP

Iain Gulland, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) Director for Scotland said in a press release,

'This new research shows the massive financial and environmental burden of food waste. Scottish households are throwing out huge amounts of food, most of which could have been eaten, and this costs us dearly. Not only are we paying for this food at the checkout, we are also paying to dispose of it through our council tax. This is a terrible waste in these difficult economic times.'

Food Discarded Before Sell-by Dates

Much of the food thrown out is still edible. Half of the food waste in bins is whole and uneaten while over 15% is still in its packaging. £18 million of the packaged food is still within its sell-by date.

The Total Costs of Food Waste

In Scotland, the cost to local councils of dealing with food waste is £85 million per year. On top of that are the environmental costs involved in the production, transportation, packaging and storage of the food as well as the increased amounts of methane released into the atmosphere from rotting food in landfill sites.

Had this food been eaten instead of being thrown out, it would have decreased the amount of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere by 1.7 million tonnes. This is equivalent to reducing the number of cars on Scotland's roads by a quarter.

If this is the amount generated by one small part of the UK, the total food waste throughout the British Isles is a national disgrace.

The Government's Draft Zero Waste Plan

Richard Lochhead, the Environment Secretary, commented that food waste is one of many issues being addressed in the Government's draft Zero Waste Plan and encouraged people to have their say about it. The Plan is to make everyone aware of what they can do to decrease waste.

The copyright of the article Wasting Food Wastes Money in Green/Simple Living is owned by Ann Burnett. Permission to republish Wasting Food Wastes Money in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Fruit and Vegetables make up Much of Food Waste