Potatoes, bread, salad, meat. Every year, businesses in the UK throw away tonnes of food waste. Manufacturers, the hospitality sector, and the retail industry alone are responsible for almost 3 million tonnes of food waste, with supermarkets discarding 100,000 tonnes of edible food.
This total food waste is wreaking havoc on our planet. Every tonne of surplus food ending up in landfills produces approximately 4.2 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
If your business wants to increase its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) targets and cut waste disposal costs, eliminating food waste is the place to start.
Throughout this article, we’ll cover the facts and statistics about food waste in the UK, explore where food waste comes from, and discuss how to reduce food waste for your business.
N.B: While household food waste accounts for 70 per cent of food waste annually, this article will focus on food waste at a business level.
Food Waste from UK Businesses
The UK produces the largest amount of food waste compared to any other European country. However, figures show that only “56 per cent of food retailers and convenience stores say that they recycle food waste in order to minimise financial losses and only 24 per cent recycle food waste to avoid costly fines.”
It’s shocking to read that 6.4 million tonnes of food wasted in the UK annually could be used to feed 30 million people. In January 2024, the Food Foundation warned of growing food poverty, as 15% of UK households went hungry or skipped meals. It’s unbelievable to think we have all the food we need to feed hungry families, but it’s ending up in landfills.
However, thankfully, change is possible. A 2020 report by WRAP shows that around “700,000 tonnes of food surplus from manufacturing, retail, hospitality and food service is either being redistributed via charitable and commercial routes or being diverted to produce animal feed.”
While that figure is a great start, 2.3 million tonnes of food waste from businesses remain unaccounted for and end up in landfills.
Let’s explore why so much food is going to waste.
Why do we Create so Much Food Waste in the UK?
Picture your favourite meal. Now imagine how it travels from field to fork. Large quantities of food waste occur at every stage of the process, from production to human consumption.
Let’s start at the beginning and explore the production-to-consumption process.
- Produce left unharvested. Adverse weather or a labour shortage can leave farmers unable to salvage crops.
- Overproduction. Farms, processing plants and manufacturing facilities can overestimate product demand, ultimately leading to food waste.
- Food surplus. Unsold food in supermarkets that has passed its sell-by date and has to be thrown away.
- “Wonky” produce. Some levels of food waste are caused by misshapen products that fail to sell in shops.
- Expired use by date. Once food has spoiled and passed its shelf life, it’s ready to join the tonnes of food thrown away daily.
- Leftovers. Leftover food on plates ends up in the waste.
At every stage of this process, individuals, factories, businesses and households could play a part in reducing waste.
5 Examples of Food Wasted in the UK
These are the top five culprits causing tonnes of food waste every year.
- Bread. 900,000 tonnes of bread is wasted annually at the food preparation and consumer levels.
- Potatoes. 750,000 tonnes of potatoes end up as food waste every year. This is partly due to product imperfections combined with retailer's strict regulations on how potatoes should look.
- Milk. 490,000 tonnes of milk are another contributor to food waste in the UK. Overproduction on farms, combined with food surpluses in supermarkets, are factors causing milk waste.
- Bananas. 190,000 tonnes of bananas are thrown away annually. This is largely due to overripening and imperfections, which prevent the fruit from being sold in supermarkets.
- Salad and vegetables. Every year, 175,000 tonnes of salad and vegetables go to waste. A 2020 report by WRAP shows that 19 per cent of lettuce grown was left unharvested. Quality standards set by retailers are also a contributing factor to salad and vegetable waste ending up in landfills.
With tons of food waste piled yearly, billions of pounds are wasted through consumer habits, an overzealous supply chain, and a lack of food redistribution.
Why Should We Care About Food Waste?
Most food waste ends up in landfills. Although the majority of these 9.5 million tonnes will naturally decompose over time, the problem lies in the process. As food waste breaks down, it releases methane gas, which traps heat within the atmosphere.
The UN Environment Programme reports that methane is “80 times more harmful than CO2 for 20 years after it is released.” So, although our bins may be full of biodegradable waste, the figures show that food waste is having a detrimental impact on our planet. A total of 26 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions result from food production.
The UK government has set a target to reduce food waste by 20 per cent by 2025 and by 2030 a reduction of 50 per cent. If this target is going to be met, every sector of society needs to consider food waste reduction measures.
At Waste Mission, we are serious about building a future that’s a few shades greener. Together, we can help you explore ways to reduce food waste.
How to Reduce Food Waste
The food waste statistics are a challenging read. But let’s take some time to focus on the positives. Have you ever explored how much your business could save annually by reducing food waste?
Feedback is an environmental campaign group. According to their statistics, a 1% reduction in food waste could save UK food businesses “an estimated total of at least £24.4m a year.”
Or let’s look at another statistic.
Food retailers in the UK spend over £50,000 a year sending food waste to landfills. However, by investing in a commercial food waste management plan and recycling food waste, retailers could save £ 7,000 annually.
Benefits of Reducing Food Waste for Your Business
Introducing new processes around food waste may seem like a complex challenge for a business. Plus, there may be concerns about upfront costs if you have to invest in new bins and provide staff training.
However, at Waste Mission, we are experts in this area and can help you turn your food waste challenges into savings. We save our customers, on average, 40 per cent of their general waste prices by using the costing out method.
By choosing to minimise food waste and recycle surplus food, your company will see a host of benefits:
- Financial savings by avoiding disposal costs.
- Reduction in greenhouse gases. Explore how anaerobic digestion can help your company recycle food waste efficiently.
- Improved reputation. Showing your business cares for the environment.
The UK government has said it is fully committed to seeing food waste in the UK halved by 2030. Although the UK government has gone quiet on its plans to introduce new food waste legislation, businesses need to prepare for the changes that will come into effect.
DEFRA has created a food and drink waste hierarchy “for any business or organisation which produces, handles, treats, or disposes of surplus or waste food and drink.”
At Waste Mission, we can help you apply the hierarchy to your business to ensure you’re not only disposing of food waste efficiently but also reducing the amount of food waste that occurs in the first place.
Ideas for Reducing Food Waste
Let’s explore how your business can begin to reduce food waste.
We can learn a lot from other countries about successful methods to reduce wasted food.
- South Korea. In 2005, the South Korean government banned organic waste from being sent to landfills. Public awareness campaigns, education programs and a pay-as-you-throw system for food waste have led to South Korea’s food waste recycling rate reaching nearly 100%.
- Denmark. According to the European Environment Agency, less than 1 per cent of food waste in Denmark is sent to landfills. With a government-led emphasis on prevention, redistribution, and recycling of food waste, combined with public campaigns and regulatory measures, Denmark has made significant steps to reducing food waste.
If everyone made a concerted effort to prevent food waste, redistribute surplus food, and recycle extra food waste, we would soon see numbers dropping from the 9.5 million tonnes of food currently being thrown away in the UK.
How to Prevent Food Waste
- Measure. At Waste Mission, all our contracted customers have a customer portal where waste can be measured. This provides an excellent opportunity to identify areas where waste can be reduced.
- Communicate. Encourage staff and consumers to consider how they can play their part in reducing food waste.
- Labelling. Ensure food is adequately labelled, and anything within its best-before-date can be redistributed.
How to Redistribute Surplus Food
WRAP has created an excellent hub for helping companies decide how to redistribute surplus food. Here are some helpful links:
- Redistributing own-label products
- Labelling guidance for surplus food
- Guidance around freezing products
How to Recycle Food Waste
Have you considered anaerobic digestion technologies for your business? Anaerobic digestion composts food waste while producing renewable energy and avoiding carbon emissions. Explore in our recent blog how this could provide significant environmental and economic benefits for your business.
Summary
Moving your company to a place of increasing environmental sustainability and meeting growing ESG targets may seem overwhelming, but we can help you find the right solutions at Waste Mission.
We can create a commercial food waste management plan that details the steps to reduce food waste. As your single supplier solution, we will work closely with you to comprehend your unique requirements, offering tailored hybrid solutions that seamlessly help you reach your sustainability targets.
Book a waste review today, and let’s start hitting those ESG targets.
