MEDIA RELEASE

JACKIE BAILEY, LOVE FOOD HATE WASTE CAMPAIGN MANAGER, SAID: “In our busy lives, many of us wish we had more time. One simple way around this is to use up those extra portions we often seem to have; a simple solution that could help you get some life back and turn food we’ve already cooked into a second delicious meal!

For this year’s Food Waste Action Week, we’re encouraging the nation to follow ‘Win. Don’t Bin’ and highlighting the very real benefits that using up your uneaten food can have on your pockets, your personal time and the planet.

Even more importantly, at a time of rising food prices, tackling food waste at home is one way we can all make a difference - and help save money.”

RESOURCES AND WASTE MINISTER REBECCA POW SAID: “Every year UK households waste 4.5 million tonnes of food that could have been eaten. This costs the average family an astonishing £60 per month – a terrible waste of money - and has a massive environmental impact. The government has taken positive action on this issue and the amount of wasted food has fallen. However more needs to be done to tackle this critical issue, which is why I am supporting this year’s Food Waste Action Week. As a government we are committed to halving food waste by 2030, and we can all make a difference by taking simple steps at home to cut down how much food we throw away.”

LORNA SLATER, MINISTER FOR GREEN SKILLS, CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND BIODIVERSITY IN SCOTLAND SAID: “I am pleased to help promote Food Waste Action Week in Scotland and bring awareness to the ‘Win. Don’t Bin’ campaign. We can all make changes at an individual, household, business and community-level and ‘Win. Don’t Bin’ is one step we can take to reduce our food waste in Scotland. We know we need to take more steps to reduce our food waste and that is why the Scottish Government is collaborating with Zero Waste Scotland to make sure we are targeting key behaviours that will deliver results. We are working towards reducing our food waste by one third by 2025, and we are working towards a 50% reduction in food waste by 2030.”

In 2023 Love Food Hate Waste once more worked with partners around the globe to make this FWAW an international week of activities. Partners supported the campaign from countries including Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and USA Love Food Hate Waste is grateful too for the support of some of the UK’s largest retailers and food brands who have provided sponsorship to help amplify the week: including Arla Foods, Danone, Kenwood, Lidl, Ocado, Panasonic UK and Tesco. TO

JULIE JAMES, MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE IN WALES SAID: “Reducing food waste can have a big impact on our carbon emissions and help tackle climate change. We know the people of Wales want to continue their good work with Wales being the third best country in the World for recycling, and this campaign will help further this by highlighting and educating people how to reduce their food waste.”