Why is reducing food waste so important in tackling climate change?
Andrea Sharp
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, food waste globally is estimated to contribute to 8-10% of total man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with 25–30% of total food produced being lost or wasted. If food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third largest emitter after China and the USA The production of food and transporting it to consumers requires significant resources including land, energy and water which explains why wasting food has such a huge impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Great progress has been made in the UK but food waste from households and businesses is still around 9.5 million tonnes (Mt), (70% of which was intended to be consumed by people, 30% being the ‘inedible’ parts). The GHGs associated with the 9.5 Mt of food waste in the UK is around 25 million tonnes CO2 equivalent to 5% of UK territorial emissions!
It is hard to picture the impact of food waste but these facts and figures may help
1. The impact of food waste in the UK has the same impact as 10 million cars (or 1 in 3 cars on UK roads).
2. The food that could have been eaten (6.4 Mt) would make the equivalent of over 15 billion meals – enough to feed the entire UK population 3 meals a day for 11 weeks.
The good news is that 70% of the food that is wasted in the UK is wasted by people in their own homes so we can all do something about it! Small changes to our own behaviours at home could add up to save 4.5 million tonnes of food from being thrown away every year.
3. If everyone in the UK stopped wasting food at home for just one day, it would have the same impact on greenhouse gasses as planting half a million trees.
4. Did you know that every day we waste 20 million slices of bread, this creates greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to over 140,000 cars every year!
5. The tomatoes wasted at home every year have the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions of 51,000 cars.
6. 0.9 million bananas are wasted in UK homes every day. It takes 330 billion litres of water to grow the bananas wasted at home every year
7. It takes 65 billion litres of water to grow the potatoes we waste at home every year.
We can tell from these facts that certain foods get wasted much more than others with bread, potatoes, milk and fizzy drinks being the most commonly wasted foods.
What happens to food when we throw it away?
The best way to manage our food waste, after doing all we can to reduce it, is to compost it either at home in a compost bin or through Council food composting schemes. It is estimated that only around 20% of food waste is disposed of in this way, the rest is sent to landfill, incinerated or washed down the sink into the sewers. When food waste is sent to a landfill or ends up in the sewer (34% of the food wasted by UK households), it breaks down without oxygen, releasing CO2 and
methane. Both these gases contribute to climate change but methane is actually 56 times worse for the climate than CO2 over the course of 20 years, according to the United Nations (UN).
What is being done reduce food waste?
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal is to halve food waste by 2030. In the UK, the government has promised to reduce food waste by 20% by 2025 and has offered £1.15 million of funding for businesses to come up with ways to tackle food waste. It has been working for a while to reduce food waste and has reduced household food waste from 8.1 million tonnes to 6.6 million tonnes now. However, further reductions in food waste are needed to reach their target including 1.3
million tonnes from homes and over half a million tonnes from across the supply chain.
Supermarkets get a lot of criticism for the way they present and sell food, use sell-by dates, and reject fruit and veg that doesn’t look quite right. However, some of them are also doing things to try to cut waste eg teaming up with Olio, a food sharing app, or charities such as FareShare which help give people access to food that supermarkets have but can’t sell anymore. Supermarkets are also starting to accept more ‘wonky’ vegetables that wouldn’t previously have fitted their strict
appearance standards. They are also starting to scrap ‘best before’ labels that cause confusion and more waste.
How is the Down to Earth Community Café helping to reduce food waste in Oxfordshire?
Down to Earth Café creates its delicious meals using as much food surplus as possible thereby helping to reduce food waste. Food that is fresh but is surplus to requirements and would otherwise go to waste is used to create freshly cooked meals. Most of the surplus food is provided by the Oxford Food Hub which is at the centre of surplus food redistribution in Oxfordshire, providing food to over 180 charities. In 2020, they supplied over 600 tonnes of produce to local charities and community groups. A dedicated group of volunteers collect surplus food from wholesalers, supermarkets and other organisations and distribute this food to charities and community organisations. Everyone wins – the amount of food waste going to landfill is reduced and instead it provides tasty, fresh produce to those in need in Oxfordshire. No charge is made to charities or suppliers for food provided and Oxfordshire Food Hub is supported entirely by donors.
In Wantage, the supermarkets also provide food nearing its sell-by-date to Sustainable Wantage, a local charity, that runs The Mix Community Fridge and the Wantage Community Larder. The food provided by the supermarkets is made available to local residents of Wantage and then to the Down to Earth Community Café, to ensure it all goes to good use. Since the first week in January, customers at Down to Earth have helped save over 360kg of surplus food from going to waste, the equivalent of 28 days of electricity usage for one household! This food surplus was made available mainly from the Oxford Food Hub with additional donations of food coming from local supermarkets, SOFEA and Saddleback Farm Shop.
What can I do at home to help reduce food waste?
There are a number of simple things you can do at home to reduce food waste. Planning your meals for the week ahead has greatest impact, as it help you to buy only what you need, rather than making impulse buys. This could also save you money too! Other ideas include, using your leftovers from last night’s dinner and turning them into something delicious for lunch, rather than putting it in the bin. Use your fridge wisely to extend the life of food and regularly check it to see what needs
using up. Plan how to use the food you already have before you go shopping for more. Try freezing food to make it last longer. As well as the normal foods we tend to freeze, did you know you can freeze eggs, yogurts and cheese? Freezing bread and milk is also a good way to save these commonly wasted foods, just slice bread before freezing and take out slices as required.
Often people are tempted to go out and buy more food when they lack inspiration of what to cook with the food that is in the fridge or the time to cook it! However, with a few pointers like flexible meal ideas and having a stock of staple ingredients at home, you can really improve your ability to rustle tasty, quick meals up from those slightly unappetising looking items that you have to hand. If you would like help with cooking ideas, see the courses and Cook-in events run by Down to Earth
café that help people to come up with new ideas and give them confidence to try them at home.
References:
https://wrap.org.uk/taking-action/food-drink/actions/action-on-food-waste
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/54466096
https://www.theecoexperts.co.uk/home-hub/what-happens-to-food-waste
https://oxfordfoodhub.org/about/
https://watchmywaste.com.au/food-waste-greenhouse-gas-calculator/
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