UK adults estimate that almost a third of what they buy ends up in the bin despite three in four making attempts to get more use out of the products that end up in their fridges and cupboards.

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The study of 2,000 adults commissioned by Waitrose found one in seven (14 per cent) forget to check use-by dates, while nearly one in 10 are guilty of buying more than they need in the first place.

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But food waste is having a bigger impact than we realise, as Marija Rompani, director of ethics and sustainability at the John Lewis Partnership explains.

“When we think of the triggers of global warming, we think about fumes pumping out from power stations, car exhausts or planes. But in fact, food waste creates six times more greenhouse gases than aviation.

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The UK produced around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste in 2018. It is estimated that 70% of this total was intended to be consumed by people, with 30% classified as “inedible parts”. WRAP estimated that this waste had a value of over £19 billion a year and would be associated with more than 25 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. It has said that of this waste, 6.4 million tonnes could have been eaten—the equivalent of over 15 billion meals.

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Overall, 6.4 million tonnes of completely edible food is thrown away per year.

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The cosmetic standards of supermarkets should also be addressed when tackling the issue of food waste, as 20% - 40% of food headed for the supermarket shelves is discarded as it does not meet cosmetic standards. We are starting to see attempts to rectify this issue, with so-called ‘wonky’ fruit and veg now available on the shelves of several major UK supermarkets. 

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