First-ever Food Waste Action Week aims to reduce wasted food to tackle climate change

Members of the public are being asked to try and reduce the food wasted at home in the inaugural Food Waste Action Week (1-7 March).

Led by WRAP, the UK’s leading sustainability charity, Food Waste Action Week runs until Sunday 7 March, with activities taking place across the whole of the UK.

Partners are united around a simple message: “Wasting Food Feeds Climate Change.”

Food Waste Action Week asks the public to take part in a simple challenge to try to reduce the food they waste at home to as close to zero as possible, as 70% of all food wasted in the UK is from our own homes. Each year, UK households throw away 4.5 million tonnes of food that could have been eaten.

Shockingly, if food waste were a country, it would be third only to the USA and China in terms of its greenhouse gas emissions, says WRAP.

People will be able to take part in Food Waste Action Week activities happening across Love Food Hate Waste’s Twitter, and Facebook platforms and the Love Food Hate Waste website, all communicating the message that wasting food feeds climate change and stressing that we all have a part to play in breaking the cycle. There will be widescale action from an array of well-known influencers helping people stop food that could have been eaten ending up in the bin, with daily support and tips from WRAP’s food experts.

Councillor Andrew Western, GMCA Lead for the Green City-Region, said: “Greater Manchester Combined Authority, working with our 10 local councils, is proud to support Food Waste Action Week.

“We announced a climate emergency in 2019, acknowledging that we have to take action now and together and make tackling the impact of climate change our top priority. Wasted food has a huge impact on climate change, from the release of greenhouse gases to the waste of land, water and energy. With over 2.5 million residents living across Greater Manchester, if every one of us took simple steps to reduce the amount of food we throw away we could make a real difference.

“Most food wasted in the UK comes from our homes. This campaign can help us all to stop wasting food through making small changes to the way we shop, and how we store and prepare food.”

Marcus Gover, CEO of WRAP, said: “Wasting food is a major cause of climate change – it generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all the commercial flights in the world. We know through our research that the climate change emergency matters to people so this is something we can – and must – act on together. It is time to focus on saving one of our most precious resources instead of generating greenhouse gases producing food that is never eaten.

“I’m delighted to be launching the first UK Food Waste Action Week today and to have such strong support from our partners. Together we will inspire real and lasting change. Food Waste Action Week gives organisations a unique opportunity to capture their audiences’ attention as part of a national event and help them to play their part in eliminating food being wasted and tackling climate change.”

Apps such as Too Good To Go and OLIO have been created with reducing food waste in mind.

OLIO connects neighbours with each other and with local businesses so surplus food can be shared, not thrown away. This could be food nearing its sell-by date in local stores, spare home-grown vegetables, bread from your baker, or the groceries in your fridge when you go away.

OLIO is free to use; more information can be found via its website: www.olioex.com

Too Good To Go lets people buy surplus food and drink from pubs, restaurants, retailers and producers to stop it from going to waste. Consumers simply download the free Too Good To Go app and search for nearby businesses with unsold produce. They then purchase a ‘Magic Bag’, collect it at an allotted time and enjoy.

For more information on Too Good To Go visit www.toogoodtogo.co.uk.

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Reduce food waste with these tips

1. Cut carrots and lettuce will keep for longer if you store them in icy cold water and change as needed. The cold water helps keep them fresh, crisp and crunchy but you’ll need to dry them off before eating raw, or use a salad spinner for your greens.
2. Supermarket yellow-stickered herbs are perfect for using in homemade pesto (blend with olive oil and cashew nuts for a quick version), or for drying your own herbs. Spread them on a baking tray at a low heat until crisp and you’ve got dried herbs with more flavour.
3. Stale bread can be used to create a delicious Italian Panzanella, a Tuscan bread salad!
4. If a recipe calls for anything less than one onion, fear not. Dice the whole onion, use what you need and freeze the extra to avoid leaving a half-cut onion in the bottom of the fridge.
5. Banana bread became a favourite of the nation during the first lockdown for good reason. Forgotten bananas are perfect for banana bread, and can also be used to replace eggs in some baked goods, like brownies. Simply mash one over-ripe banana and use one tablespoon for every egg required.