By KLTV Newsdesk –
Kirklees Council and the Love Food Hate Waste campaign have partnered to highlight the environmental impact of food waste and encourage residents to make small beneficial changes.
Food Waste Action Week starts today (1 March) and runs throughout the week.
The reduction of food waste is playing a major part in the council’s plans to tackle the climate emergency.
Environmental Benefits
According to research conducted by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) if every person in the UK wasted no food at home for one day, it could have the same impact on greenhouse gases as planting half a million trees.
In addition to the environmental benefits, there is also money to be saved by households in reducing their food waste before even entering a supermarket.
As part of Food Waste Action Week, the campaign will be sharing various hints and tips on how to reduce food waste and reuse leftovers, ultimately saving households money.
Some handy tips to get started include;
- Making a meal plan and a list before shopping helps prevent unnecessary and impulse purchases.
- Ensuring fridges are set to the correct temperature.
- Freezing food before it goes bad.
- Storing leftovers so they can be re-heated or reworked into stews and soups.
It will also benefit to look at long terms plans for reducing the overall amount of waste generated.
For example, some residents are currently trialling different types of composters to help the council make an informed choice about promoting composting in the future.
Reducing Unnecessary Waste
Councillor Naheed Mather, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “Whilst preparing for our waste strategy engagement at the end of last year we discovered that 36 per cent of the average Kirklees household’s waste is food waste.
“While some waste is unavoidable, we want to make sure that all residents have access to information and support to help reduce unnecessary food waste.
“Starting during Food Waste Action Week we will be sharing information in the coming months to help every resident to take small steps towards reducing their waste and helping them to save money.”
To find out more about Food Waste Action Week visit the Love Food Hate Waste website. Love Food Hate Waste will also be sharing plenty of useful tips throughout the week on social media.