Is the UK’s Food Waste Problem Getting Worse?

The UK has a serious food waste problem. 8.4 million families are struggling to put food on the table to live off, while at the same time, 7.3 million tonnes of food waste is being disposed of annually in landfill – a figure which is on the rise.

New statistics from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) show that food waste actually increased between the years 2012 and 2015. That’s despite a government target to reduce the amount of food going into landfill by 5% before 2015. It is estimated that this waste costs the average UK family in the region of £700 per year.

What Is Being Done to Tackle Food Waste

The figures are particularly disappointing, especially when you consider the money that has been spent by Government on campaigns designed to encourage us to stop throwing food away. Campaigns such as “Love Food, Hate Waste” were intended to make us rethink the way we shop and cook. TV shows, such as Hugh’s War on Waste, have also raised the profile of the issue.

Despite this, targets set as part of the Coutauld Agreement – a voluntary contract between supermarkets and manufacturers to stop waste going to landfill – have been missed.

Who Is to Blame for Food Waste?

In an interview with The Independent newspaper, Marcus Gover, who is the CEO of WRAP, emphasised that we all have a responsibility to do our bit. He said “every person in the UK can help reduce food waste. WRAP’s research found that almost 60 per cent of people believe they personally waste either no food or hardly any, even though people know food waste is an issue.”

However, waste activists, The Real Junk Project, argue that the food industry should take more responsibility when it comes to the way it disposes of waste food. “I’m sick of the food industry passing their responsibility onto the consumers as though it’s our fault. More and more people are composting than ever before. More and more people have less food than ever before and this Christmas period, food sales were down due to a 14 per cent increase in food prices for Christmas lunch.”

What Happens Next?

In 2025 the UK will face its next big test. At that point it is expected to have reduced levels of food and drink waste by 25%. For that to be achieved, everyone in the UK will have to change the way they operate. For supermarkets, more needs to be done to move away from our obsession with aesthetically perfect food – is a bendy carrot any less of a carrot than a straight one?