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Love food, hate waste
14/02/2008
Scots were urged to make February 14 their first date to love food and hate waste.
Each year Scotland throws away around £800 million worth of food - an average of £366 per household - with over a third of the food Scottish households buy ending up in the bin.
On the day when thousands will be preparing and eating special meals, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment Richard Lochhead urged people to make the most of their food.
He said:
"The figures on the amount of food Scottish households throw out each year are absolutely staggering.
"Many people will be making a particular effort in preparing dinner for loved ones tonight, but that shouldn't mean that surplus food should be wasted.
"As well as a commitment to recycle 70 per cent of waste by 2025, tackling food waste is a key part of action the Scottish Government is taking to achieve a zero waste Scotland, and of course forms part of our National Food Discussion.
"At least half of the food we throw away could actually be eaten and there are a number of simple recipes provided by the Love Food, Hate Waste campaign, which can be used to turn food waste into another delicious meal.
"Food makes up nearly 20 per cent of the average household bin. If we stopped wasting all this food, this could save around 1.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions - the equivalent of taking one in four cars off the road.
"Excess food adds to our landfill as well as our waistline."
Love Food, Hate Waste is run in Scotland by the Scottish Waste Awareness Group (SWAG).
The Love Food, Hate Waste campaign was launched to raise awareness of the environmental and economic significance of food waste; and provide practical advice to householders on how to make the most of the food that they buy. The campaign is focused on what individuals can do and not on the retailers.
This campaign is a key part of the work ongoing to reduce food waste and achieve the targets set out in the Household Waste Prevention Action Plan (Scotland); to reduce the amount of food waste from Scottish households by 10,000 tonnes by 2008 and 15,000 tonnes by 2010.
The campaign has a strong focus on the simple and practical advice to avoid food waste. To help engage the public the campaign features four 'food waste champions' to share their experience and provide their hints and tips for reducing food waste.
Food waste facts and figures:
- Around 90 per cent of us don't realise the amount of food we throw away
- About a third of the food we buy is thrown in the bin and at least half of this could have been eaten
- Over £800 million worth of food is wasted by consumers in Scotland each year - an average of £366 per Scottish household
- The main reasons we waste our food are that we cook or prepare too much food or our food go past its use-by date or forget we have it
- The main types of food wasted at home are fresh fruit and veg, meat and fish, bakery and bread products and dairy
- Around 650,000 tonnes of food waste is thrown out by Scottish households each year. At the moment most of our food waste is sent to landfill where it emits harmful greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming
- Producing, transporting and storing food uses a lot of energy, water and packaging, which is all wasted if the food gets thrown away uneaten
- If we stopped wasting all this food, we could prevent the equivalent of 1.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year in Scotland. This is the same as taking one in four cars off the road
New waste targets include:
- The amount of municipal waste being recycled or composted is to be increased to 60 per cent by 2020 and a new target of 70 per cent by 2025
- Landfill from municipal waste is to be reduced to five per cent by 2025
- No more than 25 per cent of municipal waste is to be used to generate energy by 2025 and large, inefficient incinerators are to be rejected
Work to reduce food waste forms part of the Scottish Government's overall policies on food, as outlined in the National Food Discussion.
Buying more seasonal and unpackaged food is also one of the Greener pledges launched on January 9.