UK throws away 6.7 million tonnes of food every year
New research has found that the UK throws away 6.7 million tonnes of food every year.
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) said that it equates to one-third of all food bought, a total of ten billion pounds worth of edible food every year.
It then costs another £1 billion pound for local councils to collect the waste and send most of it to landfill.
According to WRAP, the food waste is responsible for the equivalent of 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year. That figure involves not only the food going to landfill but also the energy spent producing, storing and transporting the food to households before getting thrown out.
Liz Goodwin, chief executive of WRAP, said: "Food waste has a significant environmental impact. This research confirms that it is an issue for us all, whether as consumers, retailers, local or central government."
WRAP recently announced that fruit and vegetables make up a huge 40 per cent of all edible food which is thrown out.
The most common fruit thrown out are apples which WRAP say could equate to 4.4 million whole apples being thrown away untouched every day in the UK.
Article Date: 08 May 2008
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