Reducing food waste can save you money

Recycle Devon is highlighting how reducing the amount of food thrown away at home can help households save money and cut bin waste.

A 2022 study in Devon found that nearly a third of black bin waste is food waste, 79 per cent of which is avoidable. It also found that 35 per cent of all discarded food is still in its packaging.

Food prices remain the number one food concern for almost three quarters of participants of a recent survey. Nearly one in four (24 per cent) reported struggling to keep up with household bills, yet food waste is still on the rise for four key products – milk, potatoes, chicken and bread.

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SOURCE: Recycle Devon. 

Food Waste Action Week 2024 will be encouraging citizens to 'Choose What You'll Use', highlighting the benefits of buying loose fruit and vegetables and inspiring people to do this wherever they can. Buying loose reduces food waste - WRAP research has shown that if all apples, bananas and potatoes were sold loose, we could save 60,000 tonnes of food waste by enabling people to buy closer to their needs. 

This year, Wrap will be working in schools and with brands and retailers, to make the shift towards buying and selling fresh produce simpler for everyone. 

Love food Hate Waste is a national brand which runs campaigns aimed at radically reducing the amount of food which is wasted in UK homes.

 Currently, 60% of the food that is wasted in the UK is wasted by citizens in their own homes. That’s 4.7 million tonnes of food being thrown away every year that could have been eaten. 

At Love Food Hate Waste, we unite, educate, and inspire citizens to keep food out of the bin and on their plates.

Underpinned by robust research, we work with strategic partners to build and deliver insightful campaigns, taking our message directly to citizens. We believe in challenging attitudes, behaviours and mind-sets to ensure citizens know the value of food: buying what they need, eating what they buy, and storing their food to make it last longer.

We are the people who love food, and do all we can to stop it going to waste.

If you are interested in supporting Food Waste Action Week 2024, please get in touch at lfhw@wrap.org.uk

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SOURCE: WRAP. 

What are the climate impacts of our food choices? Try this BBC tool Climate change food calculator: What's your diet's carbon footprint? - BBC News

Community Fridges and the ReRooted Café are great examples of clever projects in Mid Devon helping to reduce food waste: 

Community Fridges 

To help you find a community fridge near you, Recycle Devon and partners have launched a new community map to show you where they are.

Tiverton Community Fridge