Food waste is a growing problem in the UK and the EU, with over 15 million tonnes of food waste dumped every year in the UK and closer to 90 million tonnes throughout the EU. A House of Lord Committee recently called the level of waste “morally repugnant”

From a global standpoint, consumers in industrialised nations waste up to 222 million tonnes of food waste a year – this equates to nearly the entire level of net food production of Sub-Saharan Africa.

The carbon footprint of worldwide food waste is equivalent to twice the global greenhouse gas emissions of all road transportation in the US

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What can be done to lower the amount of food waste?

Supermarkets and large food retailers have seen the most criticism, over food waste, calling for them to stop cancelling large food orders from farmers after the produce has already grown, resulting in edible food being ploughed back into fields. Supermarkets have been criticised and told they should stop “Buy one get one free” offers, in a bid to ensure people only buy what they need, and do not over purchase just because they can with no monetary repercussions for throwing food away.

From producer to consumer, a lot more can be done to lower the amount of food waste.

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More of our food should be send to food banks, instead of the landfill or composting alternatives – with over a million people estimated to use food banks in 2014. The amount of perfectly edible food that could easily be send to food banks would not only lower food waste drastically, but also feed up to a million mouths. This is an action that large retailers, local cafe’s, households and even farmers can participate in, as a cost effective and socially beneficial move.

The committee said EU efforts to reduce food waste were “fragmented and untargeted”

When talks arise for businesses to cut their food waste, the finger is often pointed towards restaurant chains, cafes and over food outlets, although almost every business generates food waste. With 50 people in an office, all eating lunch, some eating  breakfast and snacks throughout the day, the level of food waste in an average office can quickly add up. Anaerobic digestion (AD) could be the way forward. Regardless of whether you’re a restaurant, cafe or a businesses that doesn’t deal with the sale of food in any way – AD is a cost effective and ingenious solution to not only our growing food waste problem, but also the current worries towards sourcing energy for the future. Businesses can install AD bins as a part of their waste process – put food waste in these specific bins and they will be taken away to AD plants to be turned into biogas. To read more on this, see our post, Anaerobic Digestion – A Step Towards A Sustainable Future.

Anaerobic Digestion uses Microorganisms to break down food waste and converts it into biogas.

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Educating employees on food waste is a growing trend in the business world.

Employees directly affect the amount of food waste a company produces through bringing in more than they can eat for lunch or leaving food in the fridge to be thrown out, when it is perfectly edible. Educating your employees on the wasteful repercussion of food waste , and encouraging them to waste less at home as well as in work is a step forward for the EU and its 90 million tonnes of wasted food.

It’s been calculated that by 2020 the UK’s current landfill space will be full

Inevitably, foods like Egg shells, banana skins and tea bags are always going to be thrown out in some way, shape or form – but the rising problem of our global food waste is one that certainly isn’t going away. Here are some useful sites to help you with cutting down your food waste in the workplace or in the home:

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