We have all got a bit too much on our plates

Nov 18 2008 by Francesca Craggs, The Journal

IF someone told you to go to the supermarket and then throw a third of your shopping straight in the bin, you’d think they were crazy.

But the fact is that many of us throw away this much food without even realising it. Every year in County Durham we produce over 260,000 tonnes of household waste. Just over 30% of it is food which could have been eaten but instead has been wasted or left to go off.

Food waste costs the average family £420 a year and it also has a serious environmental impact too. If we all stop wasting good food the effect on CO2 levels would be the same as taking one in five cars off the roads.

To encourage people to waste less food, the County Durham Waste Awareness Partnership – made up of county and district council representatives – has adopted the Government’s Love Food, Hate Waste campaign.

The campaign aims to highlight the need to cut down the amount of food we throw away and show how doing this will save us money and help the environment.

Fruit and vegetables that have been left to go rotten make up nearly half of the food that is wasted.

But meat and fish, bread, dairy produce and rice and pasta are also among the top five most wasted foods.

Of course some food waste can’t be avoided – things like peelings, cores, egg shells and tea bags are never going to be on the menu.

But even these things can be put to good use through home composting. This will avoid waste being sent to landfill and the compost will be great for your garden.

You can buy a home compost bin by visiting www.recyclenow.com/compost or ring 0845 077 0757.

If you want to find out more about the Love Food, Hate Waste campaign please visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com or contact Vicki Burrell, Waste Strategy & Projects Officer on (0191) 383-5691 or Vicky Hazell, Waste Technical Support Officer, on (0191) 383-5553.