Food Waste Report Reveals Why We Bin 4.2 Million Tonnes Of Food Each Year | HuffPost Life

'There is now no stigma attached to throwing food away.'

By

Life Editor at HuffPost UK

Households are generating 4.2 million tonnes of avoidable food waste in the UK each year, and our new-found “foodie” habits may be to blame.

A report from Sainsbury’s studying the food waste patterns of 5,000 people found that our love of experimenting with ingredients is causing us to be throw food away.

The majority (86%) of us admit to buying ingredients for one specific recipe, knowing we will struggle to use them again.

What’s more, only 3% of us think there’s a stigma attached to throwing food away.

Our desire to follow the latest food trends isn’t the only reason we’re packing our cupboards with unnecessary products.

The report also outlined four key influencers driving our wasteful habits:

1. Awareness

The report found that people are not aware of the potential savings they would make with simple behaviour changes such as meal-planning or writing a shopping list.

A total of 70% of us don’t believe that list-writing could save us money, and yet those who do write a list spend £145 less on food annually, than those who don’t.

In addition, the majority of Britain’s shoppers believe that only 10% of their monthly food budget will be spent on avoidable food waste, which equates to £400 per year. However, in reality this figure is £700 for the average family.

Peter Dazeley via Getty Images

2. Behaviour

When it comes to food waste in the UK, people think they know what they’re doing. However, the report found a disconnect between the knowledge people claim to have and their actual behaviour.

Almost all (95%) respondents claimed to be confident in freezing food, while 74% believe they are confident cooking meals from leftovers. And yet, nearly two fifths (37%) of people admit to not using their leftovers, despite those who do saving £260 per year.

Meanwhile, other money-saving habits have become the norm, with 74% of people turning the lights off when they leave a room, promising a potential saving of just £15 per year.

A third of us have even changed energy supplier, saving an average of £200 a year, which is three and half times less than the annual cost of a family binning food.

3. Role Models

Despite the prevalence of food bloggers, chefs and foodie social media stars, when it comes to food waste we are lacking high-profile role models. Four in 10 (40%) people admitted they do not know who to look to for guidance on how to reduce their food waste.

What’s more, this figure grows steadily as it moves to younger generations; while only 12% of over 65s wish they knew more about managing and cooking food, nearly half (47%) of those aged 18-24 admit a lack of knowledge in the kitchen, demonstrating a need to inspire younger people when it comes to reducing food waste.

4. Society

Over the years, food has become more accessible, and more experimental. This cultural shift is much more prominent in those under 35, with more than half (55%) of millennials identifying as ‘living-to-eat’ rather than ‘eating-to- live’. This falls to a third (33%) amongst those over 35.

But desire to explore the latest foodie trends is also contributing to food waste. A total of 86% of us admit to buying ingredients for one specific recipe, knowing we’ll struggle to use them elsewhere.

Considering the figures, it’s perhaps not that surprisingly that only 3% of people feel there’s a stigma attached to binning food.

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Reflecting on the report, Sainsbury’s CEO, Mike Coupe, said: “We know our customers are concerned about food waste in their own homes, which is why we’ve committed £10 million to help tackle the issue as part of our Waste less, Save more programme.

“Wasting food has become so normal, there is now no stigma attached to throwing food away. This report identifies the four behaviours that drive household food waste and, now we know these, we can focus our efforts on helping people actually change their behaviour.

“The report also shows that people are cost-conscious and making concerted efforts to turn off lights and minimise energy use.

“However, people are still overlooking the much bigger savings that could be delivered by simply throwing away less food, and hopefully our campaign will help people waste less food and save more money.”

Food waste facts

We're losing money(01 of15)

Wasting edible food costs the average household £470 a year, rising to £700 a year for households with children. (credit:Zoonar RF via Getty Images)

It's not rocket science(02 of15)

Brits waste seven million tonnes of food a year, and up to 60% of that could have been eaten. We throw away good food for two main reasons: we either cook or prepare too much, or don't use it in time. (credit:fuzzbones0 via Getty Images)

But it's a LOT of food(03 of15)

The amount of that which we could have eaten or drunk is 4.2 million tonnes - enough to fill 8,400 Olympic-sized swimming pools. (credit:Veronica Garbutt via Getty Images)

Really, a lot(04 of15)

Or, if you'd like to imagine it another way, it would fill 210 Royal Albert Halls or five Wembley Stadiums. (credit:shutterstock)

We start but we don't finish(05 of15)

Of that, the majority (2 million tonnes) is food that is either unopened, or started but not finished - for example half a loaf of bread, or an unused slide of bacon. (credit:Thomas J Peterson via Getty Images)

Food waste is worse in our homes(06 of15)

While there's been lots of attention supermarkets, most food waste in the UK - 70% after food leaves farms - comes from our homes.

In comparison, supermarkets generate about 2%, while food manufacturing is responsible for 17%. The hospitality and food service industry, such as restaurants, accounts for 9%. (credit:Ridofranz via Getty Images)

Even worse than another big problem(07 of15)

Every year, people in the UK throw away more food from our homes than packaging. (credit:ShotShare via Getty Images)

The common culprits(08 of15)

The most-wasted types of food and drink that could have been used are bread, potato, milk, fizzy drinks, fruit juice and smoothies, poultry, pork, ham and bacon, cakes and pastries. (credit:SSPL via Getty Images)

Wasting good wine(09 of15)

We also throw away £270 million worth of wine form our homes each year, as well as £200 million worth of soft drinks, and £150 million worth of fruit juice and smoothies. (credit:Nicolas Wayne via Getty Images)

Nothing wrong with wonky(10 of15)

One of the biggest problems is prejudice over "wonky" fruit and veg - nearly a third of us (30%) told Sainsbury's we would throw a banana away if it has even a small bruise, wasting perfectly edible fruit. (credit:SageElyse via Getty Images)

Gaseous problem(11 of15)

Most wasted food that reaches landfill sits through our rubbish system emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than CO2, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climae Change. (credit:Louise Murray / robertharding via Getty Images)

But it's not all bad news(12 of15)

Between 2007 and 2012, the UK's avoidable food waste has reduced by 21%, over one million tonnes. That amount of food would fill 23 million wheelie bins. (credit:Emma Farrer via Getty Images)

More money for councils(13 of15)

This reduction in residual waste saved councils around £85 million from sending less food to landfill in 2012 alone. (credit:gkrphoto via Getty Images)

And less water wasted(14 of15)

Not to mention a billion litres of water that would have been used to grow and produce the food. (credit:Hemera Technologies via Getty Images)

Saving the planet(15 of15)

Stopping food waste also has a huge benefit for the planet - removing all wasted food would save 4.4 million tonnes of CO2 a year - the equivalent to taking one in four cars off the road. (credit:TomasSereda via Getty Images)

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