We throw away nearly half the potatoes we buy
CONSUMERS are throwing away nearly half the fresh potatoes they buy, dumping millions in the bin.
Despite being a nation raised on chips, mash and roasties, Britons waste more than 40million spuds each week, equivalent to 5.8million a day.
The potatoes may have begun sprouting, turned green in patches or gone soft because they were not used in good time.
But in many cases they could have been saved with careful storage or simply slicing off the sprouts or green bits.
A drive to ‘Save Our Spuds’ has been launched to encourage shoppers to use their potatoes.
This would not only reduce food waste but save money as the shop price of the dumped potatoes adds up to £230million a year, said campaigners.
This makes potatoes the second most wasted food in the UK, just behind bread.
A spokesman for the Love Food Hate Waste campaign run by notfor-profit group WRAP said: ‘Potato season is underway, which will see a surge in sales throughout autumn and winter. And with that, a staggering amount of waste.
‘The humble spud is one of the most demanded food items, with 1.7million tonnes bought by UK households every year.
‘Unfortunately, nearly half will end up in the bin, largely because they were not used in time. Correct storage can keep potatoes fresher for longer, meaning more time to come up with meal ideas.’
WRAP said the worst thing is to take potatoes out of the pack and put them at the bottom of the fridge. They should be kept in the original wrapper or a cloth bag and kept in a cool dark place above 6C. The campaign website offers tips and recipes on how to make the most of leftover potatoes, such as for hash browns or in soups.
Even chips can be frozen and re-heated later to create extra crispy chips.
Supermarkets are trying to cut waste with opaque packaging for potatoes to stop light reaching them and turning them green.
Households in the UK waste 7million tonnes of food annually. WRAP calculates this means a typical family throws away £700 of food a year.