The Scale of the Food Waste Problem

Food waste is a huge global issue, both economically and environmentally. And unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the food waste problem is getting any smaller.

Shockingly, around a third of all the food produced in the world is lost or wasted. In the UK alone we throw away 7.1 million tonnes of food each year. This is crazy, especially in times of austerity and the rise in the need for food banks. Whilst we’re wasting all this food, there are millions of people struggling to afford to feed their families.

But it’s not just the food that gets wasted. The water, land, energy and labour that goes into producing and transporting the food is also wasted. Given the earth’s resources are limited, we can’t afford to just throw food away.

We’re facing an impending climate crisis, and this is in part due to wasteful behaviour.

Take a look at the facts.

1.3 billion tonnes

The amount of food produced for human consumption that gets wasted across the globe EVERY YEAR.

24 million slices

We waste 24 million slices of bread every single day in the UK.

£450 per year

The amount of food thrown away each year by the average UK family.

250,000 tonnes

Of the 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste, 250k tonnes in the UK alone are still edible.

8.4 million people

The number of people in the UK who are struggling to afford to eat.

10x worse

Food waste has at least ten times the environmental impact of packaging waste.

These stats aren’t here to shock or make you feel bad. We all buy too much food or let it go bad. These stats are here to get you thinking about your own habits.

How much is your household doing to minimise food waste?

Is your bin a reflection of the growing food waste problem?

Ways to Reduce Food Waste at Home

We can all take action to prevent so much food from going to waste. We don’t have to become food waste activists – instead, there are plenty of small steps we can take. Collectively these will make a huge difference to the global food waste issue.

Take action today and make a difference to the food waste problem:

• Understand the difference between ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates
• Only buy the food you need when you go shopping with proper meal planning
• Use up leftovers to make new meals
• Build a compost bin in your garden
• Use apps and gadgets to help use food before it becomes waste
• Invest in storage solutions that keep food fresher for longer
• Use your freezer to store food before it goes off
• Learn how fermentation can save food