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ITN
Consumers told to slash food waste
Consumers told to slash food waste
Consumers are being urged to cut down on food waste as millions of tonnes of binned produce is impacting heavily on the the environment.Research by the celebrity-endorsed Wrap (Waste and Resources Action Programme) has shown that a third of food bought in the UK, most of which could be eaten, is thrown away.Most of the food thrown away ends up in landfill, where it produces the greenhouse gas methane.There is also the environmental impact from the energy used to produce, package, transport and deliver the food to homes - estimated to be at least 15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.On Thursday, celebrity chefs including Ainsley Harriott and Paul Merrett, as well as Waste Minister Joan Ruddock, attended the ground-breaking campaign launched in London's Borough Market.Harriott said: "Our new generation likes to have choice but we've been given too much of it. We've become lazy and a bit spoilt and we want our food quickly and easily."He added: "People must plan their meals better. Rather than stocking up on too much food, there is no excuse for not shopping at the last minute. Many shops are now open 24 hours. Basically, if you have something in the freezer, take it out!"Dr Liz Goodwin, Wrap chief executive, said: "It is sad that so much food is being wasted needlessly. Each year we throw away around a third of our food. This is like tipping away one out of three bags of shopping."At a cost of £8 billion a year, it's a serious issue that not only impacts the environment but our pockets too."Our research showed that 90 per cent of customers are completely unaware of the amount of food they've thrown away. Once attention is drawn to it, however, we know that people are surprised and keen to take action."If we could halt the amount of food being wasted in this way, we would make a big impact - the same as taking one in five cars off UK roads."The launch follows a report by the House of Commons' Public Accounts Committee which accused ministers of being too slow to react to a 1999 EU directive on waste and warned there was a "significant risk" that new rubbish incinerators and composting plants would not be in action in time to meet its targets.The committee warned that Britain faces fines of up to £180 million a year from the European Commission if it does not reduce the amount of rubbish dumped at landfill sites.Under the EU directive, the UK must cut the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill from the 18.1 million tonnes dumped in 2003 to 2004 to 13.7 million tonnes in 2010.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.
ITN | November 1, 2007
