Amber Valley Borough Council is supporting a new campaign, ‘Love Food Hate Waste’, which reveals we’re throwing away a staggering one third of the food we buy.
The astonishing statistic follows pioneering research undertaken earlier this year by WRAP, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, which shows that for every three bags of food shopping we bring home, we effectively put one straight in the bin.
The ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ campaign has been created to raise awareness of the issue and provide information on what simple steps can be taken to combat the problem, which has a significant environmental impact.
The campaign was launched by celebrity chef and presenter Ainsley Harriott who agrees: “The amount of food we throw away is criminal and we all need to take action and start changing our behaviour. That’s why I’m supporting Love Food Hate Waste,” he says.
“It’s sad that so much good food is being wasted needlessly,” explains Dr Liz Goodwin, WRAP Chief Executive. “At a cost of £8b a year, it’s a serious issue that not only impacts the environment but our pockets too”.
Most of the food thrown away ends up in landfill where it produces methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas. However, this is only part of the picture. All the embedded energy used to produce, package, transport and store food which could have been eaten, but instead ends up being thrown away, produces the equivalent of at least 15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
Councillor Jack Brown, Cabinet Member for Clean and Green at Amber Valley Borough Council said; “This is an important campaign that tackles real issues with waste. Reducing the amount of food we throw away not only helps the environment but also makes our shopping bill cheaper too.”
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If you would like further information regarding this press release please contact Paul Pearce-Burton at Amber Valley Borough Council on 01773 572532 or email paul.pearce-burton@ambervalley.gov.uk
News release issued by Lisa Garnham, Lisa Garnham, PR and Communications Manager, at Amber Valley Borough Council, telephone 01773 841655.
Notes for editors
- For more information on the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com which gives advice, ideas on preparation, storage, portioning and recipes.
Key findings of WRAP’s recent research on the nature, scale and causes of household food waste can be found at
http://www.wrap.org.uk/retail/food_waste/index.html