Equivalent of ‘over a million hotpots’ thrown away every month

Lancashire County Council has revealed that households in the county throw away the equivalent of over 1 million family sized hotpots every month, as part of a new campaign to reduce food waste.

The council is supporting Food Waste Action Week (1 – 7 March) which is challenging people to reduce the amount of food they put in the bin. The campaign will link organisations across the UK, including Lancashire County Council, to stop food going to waste and halt its contribution towards greenhouse gas emissions. All are united in the simple message – “Wasting Food Feeds Climate Change”.

Around a third of all food produced worldwide is lost or wasted, and contributes an enormous 8-10% of all man-made greenhouse gases.

In Lancashire households threw away 45,000 tonnes of food waste last year, producing 19,490 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. It’s the equivalent of wasting over 1 million large hotpots, 225 million beef burgers or over 56 million loaves of bread every month.

Studies show that much of what we throw away could have been eaten, and isn’t just made up of egg shells and chicken bones.

The campaign being led by the UK’s leading sustainability charity WRAP highlights how everyone can help to make a difference by thinking about their food waste, and making small changes to the way they plan meals, shop, store and prepare food.

County Councillor Albert Atkinson, cabinet member with responsibility for waste management, said: “We all need to take action to reduce our impact on the environment, and one of the most effective things we can do is simply reduce the amount of food we waste.

“The amount of energy and effort that goes into producing food means it is a really big part of our man-made greenhouse gases, which is why it’s quite shocking that we in Lancashire end up putting so much of it into our household waste bins.

“From our world-renowned cheese to our famous hotpot the fact that climate change and waste food are so closely linked really matters and is something we should all be more conscious of.

“Reducing food waste just takes a little thought and effort, and by planning meals, working out portion sizes, and storing food properly we can make a big difference to our environment, and save ourselves money.

“I’d encourage everyone to look at the online resources which are available through the Food Waste Action Week campaign as there are lots of useful tools, recipes, tips and information which can help us all make a change.”

To find our more and to get involved with the Food Waste Action Week challenge to try and stop wasting food visit lovefoodhatewaste.com/fwaw

You can also follow @LFHW_UK on Twitter or @LoveFoodHateWasteCommunity on Facebook from Monday 1 March. Get involved with the conversation on social media using #FoodWasteActionWeek.