UK household food waste covers combined area of five countries
New research compared the space taken up by all food thrown away by British people with the nation’s landmass, and found the latter was much (much) smaller.
A study by food delivery firm HelloFresh has revealed the total food waste binned by UK households in an average year is now equal to the area covered by the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium combined.
Overall, this waste amounts to 3883 square-kilometres. In human terms, it’s enough to feed five adults each week, while weight-wise the figure stands at 9.5m tonnes. The research has been made available at a time when food bills themselves are helping fuel a spiralling cost-of-living crisis, while many parts of the world are facing famine conditions as a result of global supply chain issues and the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
From an environmental standpoint, food waste also poses a significant issue, with each waste item of produce tied to miles, fuel, the use of chemicals and energy within the agricultural industry. In response to the study, HelloFresh Recipe Development Manager Mimi Morley has shared a series of tips on lowering food waste. These include green-minded ideas such as using compost rather than general waste bins (which can then be utilised to grow vegetables at home), understanding labelling, and storing items correctly.
‘Not only will following these tips save you time and money, but they’re small steps we can all take to address the wider problem of food waste and its impact on the environment. Producing, moving, storing and cooking food uses energy, fuel and water which emit greenhouse gases. Reducing your food waste is a significant step in tackling climate change,’ she added.
Earlier this year, the Food Sustainability Index published data showing that just 28 countries were prioritising sustainable agriculture. Meanwhile, nitrogen pollution from agriculture is now recognised as a direct threat to marine ecosystems.
Image: Jonathan Kemper