Over a third of food is wasted worldwide and within the UK we waste roughly 9.5 million tonnes per year. This figure is down 21% per person since 2007, but the UK Government is determined to reduce this further. According to a study by Waitrose, 3 million households throughout the UK are not disposing of their food waste correctly or responsibly.
The UK Government has confirmed that the UK will be joining the UN Food System Summit (UNFSS) Coalition on Food is Never Waste. This coalition, whose members include the US, Italy and Australia, works towards reducing food waste worldwide by half before 2030.
The UK will offer expert advice to the coalition mainly though the research that has been carried out by UK Charity WRAP, who work towards tackling the climate crisis. WRAP has already worked hard within the UK to reduce food waste and tackle emissions. Over 200 food companies have already begun their journey through WRAP’s Food Waste Reduction Roadmap.
The move towards becoming part of the coalition is due to the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan, that contains goals on how to protect the UK’s environments. Goal 5 ‘Maximise our resources, minimise our waste’, contains a 2042 target to reduce residual waste by half, which includes food waste.
The UK’s Minister for Environmental Quality and Resilience, Rebecca Pow has stated that the UK is:
“rightly recognised as a global leader in tackling both domestic and international food waste. Joining the UNFSS Coalition will enable us to work further with other countries to solve this enormous issue.”
