Love Food Hate Waste Briefing Session Registration 10.00Welcome and Introduction Love Food Hate Waste Phase Opportunities for Love Food Hate Waste Partners Questions and Discussion Break Breakout Sessions Stop the Drop – Unwanted Mail Campaign Update Waste Aware Partners Update Questions and Discussion Lunch

Love Food Hate Waste – Phase 2 Lindsay Boylan Waste Aware Scotland

Love Food Hate Waste Launched Phase 1 in Scotland November 2007 to: –Raise awareness of the environmental and economic impact of food waste –Provide practical advice to householders on how to reduce food waste. Focus on four key areas: planning and preparation, storing food, portion sizes and recipe ideas. The focus for this campaign was seasonality of food and buying locally, linking directly to the Scottish Government’s national food policy. Campaign has strong links with other Scottish food initiatives including: Food Standards Agency, Scottish Government’s food policy and Take Life On campaign, NFU Scotland ‘What’s on Your Plate’ campaign.

Achievements Over 200,000 more Scottish households are taking steps to reduce food waste –resulting in an overall saving of £40 million a year –preventing 70,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions 54% increase in people visiting website in 2008/09 compared with 07/08 25 of the 32 Scottish local authorities actively engaged in promoting the campaign. –Local waste prevention campaigns –Food waste collection trials

Planning for LFHW Phase 2 The Food We Waste in Scotland, WRAP –1,558 householders interviewed face to face –Waste from 1,169 households collected for analysis Food Waste Focus Groups, Waste Aware Scotland –Eight groups throughout Scotland Food Waste Collection Trials, Waste Aware Scotland –2,280 householders interviewed face to face

Food Waste Facts Scottish households throw away 566,000 tonnes of food waste every year. Over two thirds of food waste, 69%, could have been avoided if it had been more effectively planned, stored and managed. Avoidable food waste costs Scottish households nearly £1 billion a year. That’s the equivalent of £430 per household, for families with children it’s £550. If this food had been consumed it would prevent the equivalent of 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere – roughly the same as taking one car in every four off Scotland’s roads.

Food Waste Facts Looking at the food groups that make up the top five are: –drinks (excluding any added water to squash, tea etc) 70,000 tonnes (18% of the weight) worth £140 million (14% of the cost); –fresh vegetables (including salads) 62,000 tonnes (16% of the weight) worth £100 million (10% of the cost); –fresh fruit 34,000 tonnes (9% of the weight) worth £70 million (7% of the cost); –bakery items 46,000 tonnes (12% of the weight) worth £90 million (9% of the cost); and –meat and fish 20,000 tonnes (5% of the weight) worth £130 million (13% of the cost).

Food Waste Facts Of all the avoidable food waste, half (195,000 tonnes) is thrown away because it is not used in time (e.g. before the food date expires) or is no longer wanted. The top five food groups thrown away for this reason are: –bakery items – 38,000 tonnes worth £73 million a year; –fresh vegetables (and salads) – 38,000 tonnes worth £67 million a year; –dairy items (including milk) – 32,000 tonnes worth £65 million a year; –fresh fruit – 28,000 tonnes worth £54 million a year; and –meat and fish – 14,000 tonnes worth £98 million a year. Half of the good food thrown away is untouched, with one in seven items still in their packaging. At least £18 million worth of food is thrown away in date.

Food Waste Collection Trials 73% took part in the food waste collection trials The main reason people give (37%) for not participating in food waste collections is that they do not produce enough food waste. Prior to and following the trial the two most frequently stated benefits of food waste recycling are that it reduces waste in the normal bin and that it is good for the environment. In the post-trial survey which investigated the actual benefits, the percentage of respondents stating that it decreased the amount of waste in the normal bin increased significantly. Following the food waste collection trial, 63% of respondents stated they were much more aware of the amount of food waste they produce.

Food Waste Collection Trials As a result of the trials, a third of the participants had made positive changes to reduce the amount of food waste they produce. The main changes made were: –62% bought only what they needed –11% reduced portion sizes. Of those respondents who made changes: –24% estimated they had reduced their food waste by half or more –32% had reduced their food waste by a quarter. Changes made are in line with LFHW messages distributed to householders participating in the 6 Scottish trials.

Audience ‘Committed’ food waste reducers, those who are aware of the issue of food waste and who actively avoid food waste ‘Concerned’ food waste producers, those that are aware they are wasting food and are open to reducing it Food waste ‘Unawares’, those who think reducing food waste is a good idea however do not believe that they need to do it as they do not produce enough food waste

1. People in denial about the amount of food waste they produce. Almost 60% of householders believe they throw away a small amount or less of uneaten food Main reason why householders do not participate in food waste collection trials is that they perceive they do not produce enough food waste Key Barriers Fact: the average household produces 170kg of avoidable food waste a year.

2. Confidence, knowledge and behaviour. Nearly a quarter (24%) rarely or never plan meals More than a third (36%) rarely or never write and stick to a list Knowledge of where to store fresh produce People are unsure about storing and reheating leftovers People are unsure about portion sizes Some people never keep food beyond ‘best before’ date with certain food stuffs “just in case” Key Barriers Fact: Over two thirds of food waste could be avoided.

3. Public believe they do not have sole responsibility for food waste. Consumers perceive that retailers could do more to help them reduce food waste Consumers more willing to take part if they can see others are making more of an effort Key Barriers Fact: Retailers are undertaking initiatives to help householders reduce food waste.

LFHW Phase 2 moving forward Raise awareness of the amount of food waste we throw away –Connecting people with the food they waste. –Using food groups as the focus Provide practical advice on what consumers can do to reduce food waste –Give consumers the confidence and knowledge they need to reduce food waste and change their behaviour. Raise awareness of retailer initiatives to reduce food waste though Love Food Hate Waste –Highlight to consumers how retailers are helping householders to reduce food waste.

Community LFHW Campaigning Activities Raise Awareness of Food Waste Raise Awareness of Retailer Initiatives Knowledge and Confidence National Marketing and PR campaign Love Food Hate Waste Phase 2 Local Authority LFHW Campaigning Activities Deliver LFHW Messages via Food Waste Collections Retailer In-Store Promotion National Local

Food Waste Collection Communications Strategy Phase 1 – Raise awareness of the amount of food waste in advance of collection roll out Phase 2 – Introduce Food Waste Collection Phase 3 – Three months after introduction, food waste prevention messages – knowledge and confidence Phase 4 - Follow up and thank you Undertake pre and post surveys to assess changes in attitudes and behaviour towards food waste.

Monitoring and Evaluation Attitude and behaviour surveys LFHW tracker survey Website unique visitors Food Waste Collection - tonnages

SeptOctNovDecJanFebMar BBC Good Food Show New Year Feature Raising awareness of amount of food waste Campaign Activity Pre-Christmas Freezer Knowledge and confidence – food groups Co-op Roadshow Additional PR Activity Events LFHW Time Plan Sept 09 – Apr 10

Thank you

Discussion Questions 1.What do you think of the new campaign? 2.What other materials would you like produced? 3.What successful ways have you engaged your community? 4.How can we/you engage with local retailers and suppliers?