Impact
Food waste puts a large burden on the finances of each household and local councils in the UK; wasted food is estimated to cost each British household £250–£400 per year, accumulating to £15,000–£24,000 over a lifetime. This comes from the total purchasing cost of the food against what is thrown away uneaten. Additionally, households pay for the collection and disposal of food waste by their local council in the form of council tax. For councils, the cost of food waste comes from its collection and disposal as a part of the waste stream; this is especially an issue for councils that run separate food waste collections.
Food waste is generally considered to have a damaging effect on the environment; a reduction in food waste is considered critical if the UK is to meet obligations under the European Landfill Directive to reduce biodegradable waste going to landfill and favourable considering international targets on climate change, limiting greenhouse gas emissions. When disposed of in landfill, food waste releases methane, a relatively damaging greenhouse gas, and leachate, a toxin capable of considerable groundwater pollution. The food supply chain accounts for a fifth of UK carbon emissions; the production, storage and transportation of food to homes requires large amounts of energy. The effects of stopping food waste that can potentially be prevented has been likened to removing one in five cars from UK roads.
Internationally, food waste's effect on the environment has been an issue. Ireland is facing fines of millions of euros if the amount of biodegradable waste it sends to landfill does not fall below the maximum quantity set by the European Union's Landfill Directive. By 2010, the same directive will impose fines of £40m a year across England, rising to £205m by 2013, if its own targets on biodegradable municipal waste are not met; the amount of biodegradable municipal waste being sent to landfill in 2010 must be 75% of that sent in 1995, by 2013 it must be 50% and by 2020 it must be 35%.
In the context of the 2007–2008 world food price crisis and potential food shortages, food waste is an important and impacting issue. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) identified food waste as being a critical problem, a view shared by a Cabinet Office report on food; it said that doing nothing to solve it would lead to severe food shortages, which may trigger food price climbs of up to 50%. With a third of food purchased in the UK never eaten, the country was singled out in the report. UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said that: "Over half of the food produced today is either lost, wasted or discarded as a result of inefficiency in the human-managed food chain. There is evidence within the report that the world could feed the entire projected population growth alone by becoming more efficient while also ensuring the survival of wild animals, birds and fish on this planet."
Read more about this topic: Food Waste In The United Kingdom
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