Press release, Embargoed for publication until 00.01 Wednesday 18 December 2019
BLUE PLANET EFFECT SET TO SAVE OUR SPROUTS • More than a quarter of us plan to cut Christmas food waste this year • Blue Planet, extreme weather and Climate Emergency behind changing food habits • A third of us admit we throw away more at Christmas than at any other time More than a quarter of us have vowed to waste less Christmas food this year as a way of protecting the planet, new research1 released today by the environmental charity Hubbub has found. UK homes produce on average seven million tonnes of food waste each year2, while food waste is responsible for 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions3. Almost a third of us admit we throw away more food at Christmas than at any other time, but this year 29% of us are adamant that our Christmas food shopping will be kinder to the environment than ever before. A poll of more than 3,000 UK adults found that over a third of us (38%) are planning, for the first time, to buy only food we need this Christmas. Some 31% of us are intending to use up, for the first time, all our festive leftovers. Those polled said David Attenborough’s Blue Planet TV series, unseasonal weather and the declaration of a climate emergency had influenced a change in their Christmas food shopping habits this year. Party food, sprouts and roast potatoes are the festive foods we’re most likely to throw away, with turkey and gravy close behind, the survey found. A staggering 11% of us admit we have bought Christmas food that has gone off and been binned before Christmas day. Meanwhile, more than one in six of us end up throwing out festive food that has been sitting on the side because we’re worried it’s been out of the fridge for too long. Tessa Tricks, Head of Food at Hubbub, said: “It is hugely encouraging to see how Christmas food shopping habits are changing this year. Christmas needn’t be any less fun when we cut down on our festive waste. In fact, it’s the opposite - this is a challenge all our family and friends can get involved in. Food waste, particularly at Christmas time, is a massive contributor to climate change and yet with a few simple steps we can dramatically reduce how much we throw away.”