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UK food waste fell by seven percent per person between 2015 and 2018, according to sustainability organization WRAP.
According to the data, from its latest Courtauld Commitment 2025 milestone report, this is the equivalent to 480,000 tons of food.
The report says that households and businesses are tackling the food waste issue ‘at an accelerated rate’, with more progress made between 2015 to 2018 than over the preceding five years.
‘More needs to be done’
The decrease in waste has been attributed to multiple factors including an increase in the number of local authorities offering separate food waste collections, heightened public awareness, and clearer labelling on food packaging.
But WRAP acknowledges that this is positive news, it warns that there is more to do ‘across the whole food chain’, with households and businesses needing to step up their action on food waste.
Untenable
“We are in a new decade and have just 10 years if we are to honor our international commitment to halve food waste,” WRAP CEO Marcus Gover said in a statement sent to Plant Based News.
“This really matters because it is untenable that we carry on wasting food on such a monumental scale when we are seeing the visible effects of climate change every day, and when nearly a billion people go hungry every day.
“This great news announced today means we are starting to wake up to the reality of food waste, but we are too often turning a blind eye to what is happening in our homes.
“We are all thinking about what we can do for the environment and this is one of the most simple and powerful ways we can play our part. By wasting less food, we are helping to tackle the biggest challenges this century – feeding the world whilst protecting our planet.”
‘Needlessly goes to waste’
Environment Secretary, Theresa Villiers, added: “Each year, tonnes of good-quality, nutritious food needlessly goes to waste, harming our environment and climate.
“As a world-leader in the fight against food waste, it is good news that we are making a real difference.
“But while this is encouraging, there is more to be done – and I urge all households, individuals, and businesses to consider how they can reduce their own food waste footprint to create a better world for generations to come.”
