Reducing Food Waste In Oxfordshire – Too Good to Waste
Research undertaken by WRAP has shown that restaurants and pubs in the UK throw a mountain of food in the bin. 920,000 tonnes of food gets wasted by the UK hospitality sector every year. This is equivalent to 1.3 billion meals each year, and costs UK businesses an estimated £2.5 billion. It also carries a big cost for the environment as food waste in landfill sites produce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Around a third of food thrown away in restaurants is left on plates and research suggest that people are often too embarrassed to ask to take food home. That means perfectly good food is wasted when it could be taken home and enjoyed later.
Oxfordshire County Council commissioned LCMB to undertake a county-wide project to help reduce food waste and negate the impacts on the environment. The attached case study shows the successful outcomes and how the project made a difference across the county.