Food waste in the United Kingdom

Food waste in the United Kingdom is a subject of environmental, and socioeconomic concern that has received widespread media coverage and been met with varying responses from government.

Food waste has been discussed in newspaper articles, news reports and television programmes, which have increased awareness of it as a public issue.

Reducing the amount of food waste has been deemed critical if the UK is to meet international targets on climate change, limiting greenhouse gas emissions, and obligations under the European Landfill Directive to reduce biodegradable waste going to landfill.

The then UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said of the issue: "We must do more to deal with unnecessary demand, such as by all of us doing more to cut our food waste".

Meanwhile, in the United States (where shortages were hardly comparable), legislators considered laws restricting the distribution of food in order to cut waste, breaches of which might be punishable by fines or imprisonment.

Many of the methods suggested by current campaigns to prevent food waste have taken inspiration from those of World War II.

Since the developments of 2007–08, food waste has continued to be a subject of attention,[2] discussed in almost every major UK newspaper, often with issues such as climate change and famine in African nations.

Between them, they demonstrate how anaerobic digestion can help the UK efficiently meet the challenges of reducing carbon emissions and improving sustainable food production.

[37] In 2021, WRAP noted that total food waste in the UK was at 10.7 million tonnes, with about 60% of this coming from households, 28% coming from farming and manufacturing, hospitality making up approximately 10% and retail contributing 3%;[38][39] WRAP also noted that the figures had been going down for 10 years, but had started to rise again during Covid.

[56] Supermarkets were particularly criticised for wasting items which were damaged or unsold (what the industry calls 'surplus food'), but that often remained edible.

[17] Before a reversal of European Union policy in 2008, which came into effect on 1 July 2009,[59] misshaped or 'wonky' fruit and vegetables could not be sold by retailers and were required to be thrown away.

[64] By 2024, the retail sector was estimated to waste 270,000 tonnes of food each year;[62] legislation in England and Scotland is in place which requires companies to separate and recycle food waste, and several national supermarkets, including Aldi and Iceland have signed up to the Courtauld Commitment.

The hospitality industry was recognised as a large part of the food waste issue, with over one million tonnes coming from this sector; in response, WRAP created an initiative called Guardians of Grub to help restaurants and cafés to save food and money.

[26] When disposed of in landfill, food waste releases methane, a relatively damaging greenhouse gas,[69][70] and leachate, a toxin capable of considerable groundwater pollution.

[30] The effects of stopping food waste that can potentially be prevented has been likened to removing one in five cars from UK roads.

There is evidence within the report [The Environmental Food crises: Environment's role in averting future food crises] that the world could feed the entire projected population growth alone by becoming more efficient while also ensuring the survival of wild animals, birds and fish on this planet.

To reduce the food waste produced (often unintentionally or unavoidably, due to lifestyle) by consumers, advisory campaigns and articles have put forward varying advice and suggestions.

[83][e] Food date labels are planned to undergo radical changes as part of the "War on waste".

Specialist cookbooks and waste campaigns include recipes which are designed to incorporate typical leftovers and require minimal cooking skill.

This is planned to happen through a combination of: effective labeling, pack size range, storage advice and packaging that extends the duration of food freshness.

[91] However proposals by the European Union, which would require local authorities to provide separate collection of food and garden waste, have been met with opposition;[92] critics of the proposals argue that local authorities understand the specific needs of the areas they serve, and that they should decide waste policy.

[93] This was considered confirmation of earlier suspicions that, if carried out correctly, separate collections can result in less wastage of biodegradable waste.

[92][94] A widespread pilot scheme for separate food waste collection, involving nineteen English local authorities, achieved success and 'high levels of satisfaction' from households.

[98][99] In 2024, all areas of the UK had plans in place to legally restrict the sending of biodegradable waste to landfill.

[100] Composting, the purposeful biodegradation of organic matter by microorganisms, is among the most simple ways of treating food waste and thereby preventing it being sent to landfill.

Unlike in landfill, where it is mixed with other (non-biodegradable) materials, food waste decomposing in a compost does not release harmful gases.

[105] AD technology has a small environmental impact, producing less greenhouse gas emissions than composting.