Posted December 18th, 2019 by Fruidel Team

UK food waste – the figures

In the UK people are throwing away £13bn of food each year, latest figures show. Waste and recycling advisory body says 4.4m tonnes of household food waste thrown away in 2015 could have been eaten. Of the food thrown away, 4.4m tonnes was deemed to be “avoidable” waste that was edible at some point before it was put in the bin, compared with 4.2m tonnes in 2012. The rest were scraps that could not be eaten such as meat bones, eggshells, tea bags, coffee grounds, apple cores and fruit and vegetable peelings.

Ugly vegetables are a major cause of food waste

Ugly vegetables were blamed for up to 40 per cent of wasted fruit and vegetables in 2013, as produce was discarded for failing to meet retailer appearance standards. About 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted worldwide every year and, of this, fruit and vegetables have the highest wastage rates of any food type. But just how much of that is due to “ugly veg” being tossed by farms and supermarkets? The biggest culprit for food waste may be closer to home than we’d like to admit.

Supermarkets bid to tackle food waste

Some supermarkets are now selling unusual shaped fruit and vegetables in boxes at a reduced cost in a bid to tackle food waste.  Lidl is the fist to roll out this new incentive with its “Too Good To Waste” fruit and vegetable boxes.

As part of Lidl’s commitment to cutting food waste by 25% per store by 2020, the discount supermarket has announced a national roll-out of its ‘Too Good to Waste’ fruit and vegetable boxes across its 760 stores in England, Scotland and Wales.

The boxes, priced at £1.50, include approximately 5kg of fruit and vegetables straight from the store shelves. Unlike ‘Wonky Veg’ boxes that other supermarkets sell, these boxes are put together daily in-store by Lidl staff, containing fruit and veggies that may have become slightly damaged, discoloured or deteriorated.

Acknowledgement: Good House Keeping & The Independent.