Plan unveiled to cut food wastage in half
AMBITIOUS plans to halve food waste in Wales by 2025 have been unveiled by the Welsh Government.
Lesley Griffiths, Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, thinks the target is achievable as Wales sets its sights on becoming a zero-waste nation by 2050.
Recent figures, published by the Waste and Resources Action Programme charity, show a reduction of household food waste across the nation of 12% between 2009 and 2015.
It means that, comparatively, Wales’ household waste is now lower than the rest of the UK by around 9%.
Ms Griffiths confirmed that, to build on this progress, she intends to launch a consultation on a non-statutory target for Wales to halve food waste by 2025 from the 2006-07 starting point.
She made the announcement as she welcomed Roseanna Cunningham – the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform – to Wales. Scotland was the first UK nation to set a food waste reduction target.
The visit came a week before the release of provisional annual waste statistics for 2016/17, where Wales expects to improve on last year’s rate of 60% – the third highest in the world.
“In Wales we are well on our way to achieving our ambitious target to become a zero waste nation by 2050,” said Ms Griffiths.
“Recycling is at an all time record high and our 60% recycling rate is bettered by just two other countries in the world.
“We are keen to build on this success and one area where we believe improvements can be made is food waste.
“If just half of all the food and dry recyclables found in Wales’ bins were recycled, Wales would reach its 2025 recycling target of 70% nine years early.
“The consultation I intend to launch will examine the potential to halve food waste by 2025.
“It is an ambitious target but I know, from our recycling performance in recent years, when we work closely with local authorities and householders we can achieve results that make the world stand up and take notice.”
Ms Cunningham said: “We welcome the Welsh Government’s steps to tackle food waste which will help save households money, reduce emissions and contribute to the circular economy.
“In Scotland we are committed to reducing food waste by 33% by 2025 which could lead to significant savings for everyone – avoidable food waste costs Scotland £1bn per year or £460 per household.”