Media release Embargoed until 00.01 Tuesday 3rd November Councils Shine a Light on Food Waste in Norfolk and Suffolk
Norwich Castle glows white to highlight 6.7 million pints of milk poured down drains A huge light installation came to Norwich today to draw attention to the environmental impact of milk and other foods that are regularly wasted in our homes. It comes as new research amongst 2,004 Norfolk and Suffolk residents reveals only 1 in 6 people are aware that food waste has more of an impact on climate change than single-use plastic. The installation arrived as environmental charity Hubbub, Norfolk County Council and the Suffolk Waste Partnership mark two years of their #FoodSavvy campaign to tackle food waste across the counties, and it will be lighting up Norwich Castle for two days (3rd and 4th November). Along with bread, potatoes and bananas, milk is one of the most frequently wasted foods in households. Whether it’s cow’s, soya, oat or nut milk, a total of 6.7 million pints of milk are thrown away across Norfolk and Suffolk each year – that’s the equivalent of more than 51,000 bathtubs!¹ The research suggests that over a quarter of people have never frozen milk – an easy way to deal with surplus and one of many tips the campaign is keen to promote. Whilst the issue of single-use plastic continues to gain momentum amongst consumers and businesses, awareness of the environmental impact of food waste (which has a far greater impact on climate change) is still fairly low in comparison. Fewer than 2 in 5 realise that food waste is a major cause of climate change. Encouragingly the research also suggests a recent shift in behaviour as 2 in 5 people (41%) say they are throwing away less food since COVID restrictions were introduced. The top three reasons for this are planning meals more carefully (58%), using the freezer more (51%) and getting better at using leftovers (45%). Tessa Tricks, Creative Partner at Hubbub said: “We want to make a splash with this installation and raise awareness of the environmental impact of wasting food and drink. We hope that by highlighting the issue of milk waste, people will start to think beyond the plastic bottle it’s often poured from and consider the huge amount of resource and energy that has gone into producing its contents. Saving food from going to waste isn’t just a great way to do our bit for the environment – it can also help households save around £700 per year. #FoodSavvy is packed with tips and challenges to help people slash their waste at home. We’re calling on families across Norfolk and Suffolk to get on board over the coming months and see what they can save.” Cllr Andy Grant, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for Environment and Waste, said: “Lighting up Norwich Castle in this way perfectly represents the amount of milk wasted in both Norfolk and Suffolk every year. Our wonderful museum team have calculated that 6.7 million pints of milk would fill the huge space inside the castle keep from the main floor to halfway up to the roof! This is clearly a shocking waste of milk and really hits home how much is just thrown away every year. Knowing that on average one third of our bins at home are food waste shows that if we all do a little bit, together we can make a big difference.” Launched in 2018, Food Savvy puts East Anglia at the forefront of the UK’s efforts to combat food waste. The vision of the campaign is to reduce food waste by 20% by 2025 in line with national framework, the Courtauld Commitment and the global Sustainable Development Goals.
Over the past two years Food Savvy has secured over 100 new partnerships, launched 15 campaigns, and was involved in 70 events across the two counties to raise awareness of the impact of food waste and give people the tools they need to make a difference. 30,000 local people have been involved to date. The Food Savvy partnership has resources available for local households and organisations. Residents and organisations interested in getting involved in the campaign should visit www.foodsavvy.org.uk. To help households reduce their food waste here is a list of #FoodSavvy top tips: 1. 2. 3.
4. 5.
Plan ahead – Take a moment to think about the week ahead. Plan a couple of meals in advance, make a shopping list and buy only what you need. Check your fridge – Give your fridge the once over before you buy groceries to ensure you don’t double up. Store food carefully – Storing food incorrectly can mean it goes off quicker. Head to www.foodsavvy.org.uk to find out where to store items to keep them at their best. Make sure your fridge is set below 5C, and higher than 1C. Make the most of your leftovers – If you cook too much or can't finish a meal, pack it for lunch or freeze it. Love your freezer – If you cook too much or forget to eat something near its use by date, chances are you can freeze it and eat it later. Most foods can be frozen, including cheese, bread and milk.
Further details can be found at: www.foodsavvvy.org.uk -ENDSFor more information contact the Hubbub team at Barley Communications: Katie Raby katie.raby@barleycommunications.co.uk 07986 533547 Laura Harrison laura.harrison@barleycommunications.co.uk 07525068378 Notes to Editors: The survey was carried out by Censuswide in October 2020 and involved a sample of 2,004 UK residents across Norfolk (1,055) and Suffolk (949). ¹ A total of 6.7 million pints of milk are thrown away across Norfolk and Suffolk per year [ (291,000 households in Suffolk + 356,000 households in Norfolk) (Valuation Office – March 2019) x mean 0.4 pints per fortnight x 26 fortnights = 6,728,800]. To calculate, the data was weighted to be representative based on Gender, Age and County. One bath tub is 130 pints. Total no of pints in N&S divided by 130 = (6,728,800 / 130) = 51,760 bath tubs. Rounded to 51,000 bath tubs The castle keep: 1 pint = 0.57 Lit. 1 Litre occupies 10cm3. Therefore 1000 Litres/m3 = 1754 pints/m3 6,700,000 pints / 1754 = 3820m3 Castle dims - Length of side = 4X where X = 23'4" (source = Norwich Castle Keep - T.A.Heslop 1994) Length = 93'4" = 28.4m. Assume approx square, then area = (28.4)^2 = 806.5m2. Therefore height = 3820/806.5 = 4.73m = 15.5ft = 6.7 million pints.
About Hubbub Hubbub is an award-winning charity and social enterprise that inspires ways of living that are good for the environment - disrupting the status quo to raise awareness, nudge behaviours and shape systems. Their aim is to
revolutionise communications with the public about environmental issues - using everyday language and good design to make environmental actions desirable and tapping into things people are passionate about such as food, fashion, homes and neighbourhoods. This innovative approach saw Hubbub win the Charity of the Year Award at the prestigious Charity Times Awards in 2020. Since its formation in 2014, Hubbub has delivered more than 60 trailblazing environmental campaigns in collaboration with over 700 partners, helping to shift the national debate on key environmental issues such as food waste, sustainable fashion, air pollution and recycling. Hubbub’s campaigns include #LeedsByExample which brought together 25 of the UK’s largest companies to boost recycling on the high street, a 3-year partnership with IKEA to create the world’s largest consumer-facing sustainability campaign ‘Live Lagom’ and creating a Network of 100 Community Fridges across the UK, each redistributing on average 1.5 tonnes of food every month that would otherwise have gone to waste. https://www.hubbub.org.uk/ Twitter: @hubbubuk Facebook: @HubbubUK Instagram: @helloHubbub LinkedIn: Hubbub-UK About Food Savvy Food Savvy is a partnership between Norfolk County Council, Suffolk Waste Partnership and Hubbub. Launched in 2018, Food Savvy puts East Anglia at the forefront of the UK’s efforts to combat food waste. The vision of the campaign is to reduce food waste by 20% by 2025 in line with national framework, the Courtauld Commitment and the global Sustainable Development Goals. The Food Savvy partnership has resources available for local households and organisations. Residents and organisations interested in getting involved in the campaign should visit www.foodsavvy.org.uk. Twitter: @FoodSavvyNfk @FoodSavvySfk Instagram: @FoodSavvyNfk www.foodsavvy.org.uk.