Slash food waste to save world
FOOD waste is an even bigger cause of climate change than plastics, according to Zero Waste Scotland.
And the body is urging people to cut down the amount of unwanted food they put in the bin to help reduce the level of harmful methane gas released into the atmosphere.
When food waste ends up in landfill, it rots, producing methane – one of the most damaging greenhouse gases driving climate change.
Research by Zero Waste Scotland found that 456,000 tons of food waste was collected in Scotland in 2016, compared with 224,000 tons of plastic waste.
Only 93,000 tons of the food waste collected was sent to dedicated recycling collections, with most of the remainder BY LUCINDA CAMERON going to landfill, while about 150,000 tons went to home composting or ended up in sewage works after going down the drain from kitchen sinks.
ZWS calculated that the carbon footprint of food waste collected from our households in 2016 was nearly three times that of plastic waste collected from people’s homes.
The agency has now launched a Food Waste Reduction Action Plan with the Scottish Government, with the aim of reducing food waste across the country by a third by 2025.
Iain Gulland, ZWS chief executive, said: “It might seem bizarre but scraping that leftover lasagne, mince or salad from your plate into the bin is seriously damaging the planet. Food waste is a bigger cause of climate change than plastics. It is still vital that we continue to reduce plastic waste.
“But as more people ditch single-use plastics, we will send a strong message on the damage caused by binning leftovers and other wasted food.”
Gulland estimates that every Scots household could save an average of £440 a year by reducing the food it wastes through steps such as planning meals, making better use of storage such as freezers and being inventive with using up leftovers.
The Scottish Government has also launched an advertising campaign, Food Gone Bad, to help raise awareness of the impact food waste has on climate change and how to reduce it.