Love Food Hate Waste… Ruth Roberts

Love Food Hate Waste: how it began WRAP launched Love Food Hate Waste in 2007 to help UK households recognise and tackle the issue of food waste

Household food and drink in the UK Household food waste collections Household food and drink in the UK Household waste recycling centres Home composting and fed to animals Sewer Household kerbside collections of residual waste 1. Waste Data Flow 2. Review of Municipal Waste Composition 3. The Food We Waste (WRAP) Kitchen Diary (WRAP) Down the Drain (WRAP) A range of data sources have been used to obtain estimates of household food and drink waste in the UK: Household kerbside waste and recycling collections, as well as waste received at household waste recycling centres which all Local Authorities reported via ‘WasteDataFlow’. This constituted the total UK waste produced in 2006/07; What percentage of this total was categorised as kitchen waste, as reported in Defra’s ‘Review of Municipal Waste Composition’ (2005-08 England); Research into the types of kitchen waste produced, ‘The Food We Waste’ (Eng & Wales, Autumn 2007) Food waste which gets composted at home and fed to pets – ‘Kitchen diary’ research (Winter 2007, GB) Food and drink waste poured down the sewer – ‘Down the Drain’ – diary research (Spring 2008, GB)

27% 22% By far largest source of waste=household, ie you and me 2% 49%

Household food and drink waste in the UK Total food and drink waste 7.2m tonnes Looking at household food and drink waste in the UK, in total we throw away 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink every year. Of that 7.2 million tonnes 4.4 million tonnes per year is what we call avoidable – i.e. this is food and drink what was at some point prior to being thrown away edible, a slice of bread, an apple, a slice of ham etc… – this is approximately two-thirds of all food and drink waste. The remaining 2.8 million tonnes per year is split equally between what we call possibly avoidable and unavoidable food waste. Possibly avoidable is food and drink that some people eat and others do not for example bread crusts, or foods and drinks that can be eaten when a food is prepared in one way but not in another for example generated when making mash potato, may have been eaten when making jacket potatoes. Unavoidable is food or drink preparation that is not, and has not been edible under normal circumstances for example meat bones, egg shells, pineapple skin and tea bags. Note that composting at home is a solution to the possibly avoidable and unavoidable food waste. Avoidable Possibly Avoidable Unavoidable 4.4m tonnes 1.4m tonnes 1.4m tonnes

Household food and drink waste in the UK Avoidable 4.4m tonnes Looking at avoidable food and drink waste – the reasons why people throw away food waste can be broken down giving us valuable insights; The first main reason as to why food and drink is wasted is because we cook, prepare or serve too much. So for example, that’s us cooking too much and not knowing what to do with the leftovers, or dishing too much up onto people’s plates which ends up being thrown away, or even because we have perhaps burnt it during cooking. The other main reason we throw away avoidable food is because we have not go round to using it in time, for example it has gone past its use-by date, or has gone mouldy or rotten, or smelt or tasted bad. There are other reasons as to why food is thrown away but the research was not able to split these reasons out. Prepared, served, or cooked too much Not used in time

Household food and drink waste All types of food and drink are thrown away. The most prominent by weight are; Fresh vegetables and salad drink fresh fruit bakery So we know we are wasting food and drink – 7.2 million tonnes of it – but what foods are we wasting? Actually we waste all of them! The foods and drinks wasted comprises many different groups, but the most prominent by weight are fresh vegetables and salad, which make up almost a quarter of the wasted food and drink at - 23%, drink - 16%, fresh fruit - 13% and bakery - 10% Circle the food types suitable for your audience if appropriate

EACH DAY in the UK, we throw away around… 4.1m apples 5.3m potatoes These totals are staggering 1.7m bananas 1.4m sausages 1.3m eggs

The average home throws away 270 kg of food and drink per year 5kgs per week 120kg per person, per year Five kilograms per week may not sound like a great deal, but that’s like throwing away the equivalent of 5 x 1kg bags of sugar per week…every week! Assumed number of occupants per ‘average household' = approx 2.4 people Which ages groups do you think waste most food?? Food waste diaries

We all throw away food Age Group Kilograms per person per week 1 Actually – its everyone – we all waste food! 16 - 24 25 - 34 35 – 44 45 - 54 55 - 64 65+ Age Group

Environmental Impact Producing, storing and transporting food to us uses up a lot of energy and resources The equivalent of 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year If we were to stop wasting food it would be the equivalent of taking1 in 5 cars off UK roads The greenhouse gas emissions associated with avoidable food and drink waste is the equivalent of approximately 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Environmental Impact Sending food to landfill generates methane which is one of the most harmful greenhouse gases Also running out of space for landfill sites, costing councils more, we all pay more in our council tax. Composting food waste is much more sustainable than just dumping it.

Financial impact UK householders are throwing away £12 billion worth of good food and drink every year. £480 per household per year £680 per household with children per year Savings of up to £50 a month In financial terms what is the cost to the consumer of wasting food and drink? UK households are throwing away £12 billion worth of good food every year – that’s the cost of purchasing all the avoidable food waste. To the average household that’s £480 per year, and if you have children in your household the cost increases to £680 a year. So in summary if we all stopped wasting food that could have been eaten, UK households could save up to £50 a month each.

What are the retailers doing to help?

What is the Courtauld Commitment? A voluntary agreement between WRAP and individual retailers and brands to improve resource efficiency and reduce the carbon and wider environmental impact of the grocery retail sector. Context 1996-7 total household waste was 22.5 Mt 2002-3 increased to 26 Mt Increasing by 16% over 6 years Biodegradable waste targeted by Landfill Directive (LFD)

53 retailers and brands including… Signatories are key retailers and brands from the grocery sector. Among them are also the big food manufacturers such as Premier Foods and Northern Foods who produce all the branded goods such as Bisto, Ryvita, Jordans, Branston Pickle, etc.

Courtauld Commitment targets: To reduce the carbon impact of grocery packaging by 10% To reduce UK household food and drink waste by 4% To reduce grocery packaging waste in the supply chain by 5% Packaging – to reduce the weight, increase recycling rates and increase the recycled content of all grocery packaging, as appropriate.  Through these measures the aim is to reduce the carbon impact of this grocery packaging by 10%. Household food and waste – to reduce UK household food and drink waste by 4%. Supply chain product and packaging waste – to reduce traditional grocery product and packaging waste in the grocery supply chain by 5% - including both solid and liquid wastes. Retailers and Brands from the grocery sector have already achieved combined savings as follows, during Phase 1 of the Courtauld Commitment (between 2005-2009): 1.2 million tonnes of food and packaging waste was avoided, worth an estimated £1.8 billion. This has resulted in a CO2 saving of around 3.3 million tonnes, which is equivalent to stopping half a million around-the-world flights.

Helping consumers buy the right amount Warburtons introduced a mid size loaf to help householders reduce bread waste. Kingsmill introduced their little big loaf. Other examples include a choice of product sizes to help consumers buy the right amount for their needs, such as Heinz Beans Snap Pots, Muller Mini Rice pots, and Lloyd Grossman’s ‘For One’ range of cooking sauces.

Helping consumers buy the right amount Further examples of package functionality includes twin packs for products such as salads, par-baked goods and meat products which allow the consumer to only open part of the product, while the rest remains sealed for later. Heinz Beans now also offer convenient fridge packs with single portion markings on the side.

Helping consumers keep food at its best More products in resealable packaging to help products stay fresher for longer. Clearer on-pack labelling on where to store items to prolong their shelf life

Helping consumers keep food at its best Packaging needs to be FIT FOR PURPOSE: Packaging can be really useful in reducing the problem of food waste. For example: According to the Cucumber Growers’ Association, shrink-wrapped cucumbers are still saleable after 14 days whereas without this sheath of plastic, it is unsaleable after 3 days. Morrisons has begun scientific research in conjunction with Writtle College, a partner of the University of Essex, to understand how packaging affects the life of fresh fruit and vegetables and whether it can benefit storage in the home. For example, the life of broccoli can be lengthened by two days if kept packaged and in the fridge.  Clearer date labels, and advice on storage and freezing also means consumers get to enjoy their food for longer. Co-op have put food storage messages on their fruit and veg bags.

Practical Tips and Advice

Five Key Behaviours  It pays to plan  Know your dates  Savvy storage Perfect portions Lovely Leftovers The top five ways to reduce your food waste are: 1. It pays to plan - check what’s in the cupboard, fridge and freezer, plan your meals and know what your going to buy before you go shopping 2. Know your dates - check the dates on food regularly, use foods with the shortest date first, and freeze for later foods you won’t get round to eating in time 3. Savvy Storage - most leftovers will keep for up to two days in the fridge well wrapped, most fruit and veg will stay fresher for longer stored in the fridge, and wrap well or store in air-tight containers fresh foods once opened 4. Perfect portions - Measuring portion sizes helps us to avoid cooking, and preparing too much food. 5. Lovely leftovers – be creative with using up leftovers

Key Behaviour 1 It Pays to Plan Checking what’s in your cupboard, fridge and freezer Thinking of what you want to be eating over the next few days Making a shopping list Looking a recipe books for ideas and leftover meal ideas Thinking of your weekly schedule and family commitments (friends for meal, away for weekend?) Think of how many people will be eating, food preferences Get together once a week?

The benefits of planning Planning can help you to save time and money by encouraging you to: use up the food you already have only buy what you need avoid impulse buys eat a more nutritionally balanced diet use up food from your freezer prepare meals in advance involve members of the family People find it hard to find the time but planning actually saves time in the long run and can reduce the hassle of thinking what to eat every day. People who follow a menu plan and make a shopping list , waste the least food. Planning also helps people think about using up what’s in the freezer – i.e. “one night a week I will use up a leftover meal from the freezer.” It also helps others get involved in deciding upon meals as everyone gives some input, and relieves the burden of deciding what’s for dinner. The recipe for successful menu planning is: 1. Check what’s in the cupboard, fridge and freezer before going shopping 2. Know what your going to buy before you go shopping and 3. Plan meals in advance (which will allow you to shop for meals, rather than just individual ingredients which may end up not be used)

Snapshot of the ‘planning’ section of the website

Key Behaviour 2 Know your dates There is still a lot of confusion and misunderstanding among consumers around dates – not surprising as it’s not written down anywhere! Use by: can be eaten up to date, NOT after, even if seems OK Best Before: quality, not safety lose flavour/texture Sell by and Display until: both for shop staff not shoppers ALWAYS follow guidance, eg “eat within 2 days of opening” Best way to extend life of food is to freeze before Use By date

Key Behaviour 3 Savvy storage Further hints and tips on food storage ideas are available in your handbook and on www.lovefoodhatewaste.com Supermarkets’ + manufacturers’ guidance LFHW site Root veg, cool+dark, never bread in fridge, fruit usually best in fridge (except banana, pineapple)

Using the Freezer Food can theoretically be stored in the freezer forever - it only deteriorates in quality, not safety Changes in quality include colour, texture and flavour Thaw food in fridge so that it doesn't get too warm. Eat within 24 hours after it’s been defrosted The freezer is such a useful tool; It helps us to prolong the life of the food by slowing the growth of microorganisms (bacteria, yeasts and moulds) which cause the food to spoil It allows us to prepare food in advance to save time when we’re busy It allows us extra time to think up how best to use our food. And it doesn’t destroy nutrients! Foods can be frozen up to one day before the 'use by' date (doesn’t need to be immediately after purchase) Remember Avoid UFOs (unidentified frozen objects) by labelling the foods well before freezing – remember to include the date Use appropriate storage containers – freezer bags take up less space than rigid containers Use the freezer often, don’t treat it like a black hole – research shows that the average household could survive on the contents of their freezer for 11 days! Keep a good supply of essential foods for convenience (frozen veg/pastry/homemade ready meals/fruit/bread) If cooking or reheating ensure food is steaming hot all the way through before serving.

Key Behaviour 4 Perfect portions . The research shows that rice and pasta are things we cook too much of the most and don’t routinely store the leftovers for other uses – it’s not just cooking too much that’s the issue here, it’s not using up what’s leftover.

Perfect Portions Weigh or measure your food – work out the right amount for you. Encourage people to serve themselves from dishes on the table You don’t need any fancy tools – a mug, tablespoon, spaghetti measure or simple scales are all you need Portioning - Measuring portion sizes helps us to avoid cooking, preparing or serving too much food. Many people do measure their food but don’t feel confident with the amount in the pan so will add more! Suggest making a note of number of people, food, portion size and then record afterwards if too much/little/just right – this will help them be confident with perfect portion! Mug=300ml=enough rice for 4 adults Pasta=100g Rice=75g uncooked chicken=140g

The portion calculator on the website is great for catering for larger groups. Hard to guess how much food for 8 or 10 if you’re not used to it.

Key Behaviour 5 Lovely leftovers Soup, omelette, stir-fry, curry Be creative go to LFHW site for lots of recipes

Snapshot of the LFHW recipe bank Snapshot of the LFHW recipe bank. Allows you to show people that the bank can be searched by various categories and by food types.

Five Key Behaviours  It pays to plan  Know your dates  Savvy storage Perfect portions Lovely Leftovers To sum up, the top five ways to reduce your food waste are to; It pays to plan - check what’s in the cupboard, fridge and freezer, plan your meals and know what your going to buy before you go shopping Know your dates - check the dates on food regularly, use foods with the shortest date first, and freeze for later foods you won’t get round to eating in time Savvy Storage - most leftovers will keep for up to two days in the fridge well wrapped, most fruit and veg will stay fresher for longer stored in the fridge, and wrap well or store in air-tight containers fresh foods once opened Perfect portions - Measuring portion sizes helps us to avoid cooking, preparing or serving too much food Lovely leftovers – be creative with using up leftovers

Passing the message on….