Love food, hate waste, starve your bin
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Are you concerned about the amount of food that you throw out every week? You should be.
According to WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Program), an astonishing 8.3 million tonnes of food is thrown away by British households every single year. This is costing the average family with children a stunning £680 (US$1,046). If that figure does not make you think nothing will.
And what is more; wasting food has serious environmental implications and is the major contributor to the production of greenhouse gases in the United Kingdom. Therefore, it is high time to say goodbye to unnecessary food waste with National Zero Waste Week!
Although some food waste is made up of peelings, cores and bones, a lot of what is being thrown out is perfectly good food. The main reasons for throwing food away is simply cooking or preparing too much, or not eating food before their expiration date. Often food is also thrown away that is perfectly OK but people misunderstand the “sell by” and “use by” date. In all theory most foods can be eaten still some time after the so-called “use by” date,e specially if they have been kept refrigerated or otherwise been properly stored. There are some where that rule should not be used but...
Not only will reducing food waste benefit your finances, it is also great news for the environment.
Consider all the energy, water and packing that is used in food production, transportation and storage. All this goes to waste when we throw away good food.
According to WRAP’s Love Food, Hate Waste campaign, if we stopped wasting food which could have been eaten, it would have the same impact on carbon emissions as taking one in four cars off Britain's roads!
The third National Zero Waste Week takes place on the week beginning 6th September 2010, and the theme for this year is ‘Cooking for Victory’. So get involved.
The 2010 campaign is being sponsored by Tetra Pak, the world’s leading food processing and packaging company and also has the backing of celebrity chef Brian Turner CBE.
Brian says, “I’m a great supporter of National Zero Waste Week. I think it’s a wonderful idea and everyone should give join in. Once you’ve done a week, then it’s only another 51 to go!”
To get involved, all you have to do is visit MyZeroWaste.com and leave a comment on what you pledge to do to reduce your food waste. This can include anything from top tips to recipes – get creative!
For more information and advice on how to reduce food waste, visit WRAP and Love Food, Hate Waste.
© 2010
