Residents are being asked to consider the benefits of a new
waste minimisation campaign that has been launched to encourage
people to cut down on the estimated one-third of food that is
bought but just thrown away uneaten.
The Love Food, Hate Waste campaign claims that 6.7 million
tonnes of perfectly good food is wasted every year across the
country, with each home throwing away the equivalent of £610 worth
of food.
“The campaign is trying to encourage people to minimise food
waste by offering helpful tips on how to buy and prepare the right
amount of food. A lot of the current waste is happening because too
much is being cooked or prepared, or not being used by its sell-by
date,” said Cllr Andrew Nunn, Cabinet Member for the Green
Environment.
“At a time when many of us are feeling the pinch with
ever-rising prices at our supermarkets, simple advice that could
reduce food waste can only be good news with potential savings of
up to an average £8 a week off household bills,” added Cllr
Nunn.
Information about the campaign can be found on
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
which includes details on how to look after cooked food so it can
be safely reused, and recipes for using up leftovers.
People in Suffolk Coastal still have two green options for what
to do with any food items that they cannot reuse. Fruit and
vegetable scraps, as well as teabags, can be added to a compost
heap or compost bin, while any raw or cooked food waste, including
bones and fish heads, can be placed in the brown bin taken away for
composting at Parham.
“Food waste is not just a waste of money that could be better spent
at home, but it does add to the problem of climate change if it is
taken to landfill. I am pleased that so many of our residents have
got into the recycling habit, with more home compost bins than
anywhere else in Suffolk, and our popular brown bin service which
takes away all food waste, cooked or uncooked, and turns it into
compost,” added Cllr Nunn.
Love Food, Hate Waste is run by the Government-funded Waste
Resource Action Programme
(WRAP).