Pick up tips to stop wasting food and feeding climate change
The second annual Food Waste Action Week begins today and will highlight the huge impact household food waste has on climate change.
Oxfordshire County Council – along with the district and city councils in Oxfordshire – is supporting Food Waste Action Week, a national campaign set up by the charity WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme). It runs from Monday 7 March until Sunday 13 March.
The campaign will share practical advice, food savvy behaviours and tips on how people can easily reduce the amount of food that is wasted in our homes.
The UK throws away 6.6 million tonnes of household food waste a year. This food waste is responsible for nearly 25 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, equivalent to 5.4 per cent of the UK’s territorial emissions.
The majority, 4.5 million tonnes, is food that could have been eaten and is worth approximately £14 billion (or £60 a month an average family with two children). It requires an area almost the size of Wales to produce all the food and drink currently wasted in the UK.
Throughout the week the campaign will be sharing tips to make the most of leftovers, how to defrost frozen food, store food properly and how to shop more effectively by planning your meals.
Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery and Environment, said: “The average family wastes the equivalent of eight meals every single week. Reducing food waste can save families an average of £700 per year, reduce the amount of edible food that ends up in our bins to be disposed of, and fight climate change.
“The Food Waste Action Week campaign will highlight simple actions we can all take to reduce the amount of food we throw away each week.”
Look out for videos and messages which will be released during Food Waste Action Week on Oxfordshire Recycles Facebook and Twitter. The Replenish Project – run by Oxfordshire’s community action groups – will be running a competition to win ‘The Canny Cook: freezer & store-cupboard meals on a budget’. Oxfordshire residents are encouraged to share their #RescueRecipes ideas to be in with a chance of winning one of five of these books! People are encouraged to use the hashtag #FoodWasteActionWeek when they get involved.
Everyone can make a difference, and something as small as saving your leftovers to eat for lunch the next day and encouraging friends and family to do the same means you’re doing your part. Visit Love Food Hate Waste to find out how you can get involved, help the planet – and save money too. Look out for its great video at the beginning of the week, which will be posted and shared on social media, and to find out who its celebrity is!
Think you’re pretty good at eating what you have at home? Help reduce food waste even more, by using your local community fridge, or apps like Too Good To Go and Olio.
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