New report uncovers household issue halting progress on nationwide goal: 'This is a wakeup call'

A non-profit is reporting that British households need to reduce food waste by 36% to meet UN targets, according to PackagingNews.

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) recently issued a report tallying up the U.K.'s residential food waste. It found that waste had dropped by 9% between 2021 and 2022 due to cost increases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite that, WRAP estimates that the average British household of four is still wasting $1,300-worth of food every year.  

WRAP determined that in 2022, 83% of food waste ended up in the trash and was either incinerated or sent to a landfill. 

Besides the economic costs of wasting food, there are big environmental impacts too. When left in a landfill, food waste generates methane. That methane traps heat in the atmosphere and exacerbates destructive weather patterns. This includes droughts and floods that, in turn, depress farmer yields and increase prices in the grocery store. 

To reverse this trend, WRAP wants to help people buy the right amount and to use more of what they buy. This can include simple lifestyle choices like getting creative with leftovers and keeping your produce fresher for longer. WRAP is also pushing for stronger government policies on packaging reduction and retailer actions that change labelling to inform consumers on best-before dates better.

Some U.K. food retailers have already taken meaningful action on this front. For example, Tesco has made fresh baked goods more readily available to avoid wastage, while Sainsbury's is funneling its food waste into biofuel.  

Despite this progress, WRAP is hoping to accelerate action on food waste and subsequent emissions reductions. 

"While collaboration through WRAP's U.K. Food and Drink Pact has propelled the U.K. in the field of food waste prevention, it took the end of a pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis to get faster impact," said WRAP chief executive Catherine David.

"This is a wakeup call that we all need to act: here in the U.K. to meet our targets, and through global co-ordination to share expertise and ensure this crucial area is a higher priority and is adequately funded. This is imperative if we are to continue reducing household food waste at scale."

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