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| Should it brie in the bin? | Should it brie in the bin? |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| This week, during a Westminster debate, Richard Benyon MP claimed that the average family throws aways £50 a month in food waste. The statement from the Minister for Natural Environment and Fisheries has attracted a lot of attention - whether it's Labour claiming this is "Let them eat leftovers" rhetoric, or Conservatives claiming that Government is trying to "preach to people" about their food choices. But little attention has been paid to whether the number is actually correct. | This week, during a Westminster debate, Richard Benyon MP claimed that the average family throws aways £50 a month in food waste. The statement from the Minister for Natural Environment and Fisheries has attracted a lot of attention - whether it's Labour claiming this is "Let them eat leftovers" rhetoric, or Conservatives claiming that Government is trying to "preach to people" about their food choices. But little attention has been paid to whether the number is actually correct. |
| Methodology | Methodology |
| The original source of the data is the Waste & Resources Action Programme, conveniently acronymed WRAP. Here's how they arrived at that all important £50 monthly food waste statistic: | The original source of the data is the Waste & Resources Action Programme, conveniently acronymed WRAP. Here's how they arrived at that all important £50 monthly food waste statistic: |
• 61% of that waste is avoidable, meaning that 4.4 million tonnes of the food in our bins doesn't necessarily have to be there. • This is worth £12 billion. • Divided by the country's 18.2 million families, this works out as £659.34 per year, or £55.95 per | • UK households throw away 7.2 million tonnes of food every year. • 61% of that waste is avoidable, meaning that 4.4 million tonnes of the food in our bins doesn't necessarily have to be there. • This is worth £12 billion. • Divided by the country's 18.2 million families, this works out as £659.34 per year, or £55.95 per month. |
| What's avoidable? | What's avoidable? |
| WRAP describes avoidable waste as "food and drink thrown away that was, at some point prior to disposal, edible". To work out how much of our food waste is avoidable, they contacted 2,000 households that were considered representative of the UK. | WRAP describes avoidable waste as "food and drink thrown away that was, at some point prior to disposal, edible". To work out how much of our food waste is avoidable, they contacted 2,000 households that were considered representative of the UK. |
| Then, with their consent, WRAP rummaged through those households' bins and looked at what was down their sinks to see what proportion of food waste was avoidable. They then applied that proportion to the national waste figures. | Then, with their consent, WRAP rummaged through those households' bins and looked at what was down their sinks to see what proportion of food waste was avoidable. They then applied that proportion to the national waste figures. |
| What's it worth? | What's it worth? |
| It was this hands-on approach that meant they were also able to estimate the monetary value of that waste. As well as recording the proportion of food that was still edible, they inspected the items themselves - whether they were basic or luxury, branded or unbranded - and calculated their value. Again, applying this to the national total meant that they were able to arrive at a figure of £12 billion annual avoidable food waste. | It was this hands-on approach that meant they were also able to estimate the monetary value of that waste. As well as recording the proportion of food that was still edible, they inspected the items themselves - whether they were basic or luxury, branded or unbranded - and calculated their value. Again, applying this to the national total meant that they were able to arrive at a figure of £12 billion annual avoidable food waste. |
| Families or households? | Families or households? |
| One problem however with the £50 family food waste number that's doing the rounds is that 'waste' as a concept, and 'bins' as the real-life manifestation of that concept, are more about households than they are about families. And that does change the numbers slightly. If you take the 26.4 million UK households that the ONS recorded in 2012, the monthly value of avoidable food waste drops slightly to £37.87. | |
| That's important because the ONS defines a household "as one person living alone, or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address who share cooking facilities and share a living room, sitting room or dining area" and define a family as "a married, civil partnered or cohabiting couple with or without children, or a lone parent with at least one child". In other words, families don't necessarily live together or waste food together, households do. | That's important because the ONS defines a household "as one person living alone, or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address who share cooking facilities and share a living room, sitting room or dining area" and define a family as "a married, civil partnered or cohabiting couple with or without children, or a lone parent with at least one child". In other words, families don't necessarily live together or waste food together, households do. |
| Why now? | Why now? |
| The data behind this was first published by WRAP in November 2011 so it might seem strange that it's being cited this week to weigh up the financial and environmental cost of food waste. WRAP claim this is partly because food waste is "rising on the global agenda" with the United Nations Environmental Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and others joining forces for a new Think Eat Save campaign. | The data behind this was first published by WRAP in November 2011 so it might seem strange that it's being cited this week to weigh up the financial and environmental cost of food waste. WRAP claim this is partly because food waste is "rising on the global agenda" with the United Nations Environmental Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and others joining forces for a new Think Eat Save campaign. |
| Which areas throw away the most? | Which areas throw away the most? |
| The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) also publishes data on the volume of waste collected from UK households. We've summarised this by region and by year to create the interactive map above. | The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) also publishes data on the volume of waste collected from UK households. We've summarised this by region and by year to create the interactive map above. |
| Wasting away? | Wasting away? |
| Look at the table below to find out how the amount of household waste has changed regionally since 2009. | Look at the table below to find out how the amount of household waste has changed regionally since 2009. |
| Household Waste | Household Waste |
| Tonnes collected and proportion that is recyclable | Tonnes collected and proportion that is recyclable |
| There's also a link to the full data below. Do you think 61% of your food waste is avoidable? Do you think your household loses £38 a month throwing away edible food? Tell us what you think by posting a comment below. | |
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