OUGD601 | Packaging Research - 'Estimate of Food and Packaging Waste in the UK Grocery Retail and Hospitality Supply Chains.' - Online PDF - Wrap

·      Wrap (2013) Estimate of Food and Packaging Waste in the UK Grocery Retail and Hospitality Supply Chains. Available at: http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/UK%20Estimates%20October%2015%20%28FINAL%29_0.pdf.

• UK Food and Drink Waste Arisings.
• Three major WRAP studies carried out in 2013 estimated annual food  waste arisings within UK households, hospitality and food service, food manufacture, retail and wholesale sectors at around 12 million tonnes, 75% of which could have been avoided. 
• It has also been estimated that 3 million tonnes of food waste arises from other sectors in the UK. This includes estimates for other food thrown away by consumers out of home (e.g. from home-made lunches at work, as litter, in litter bins) and the pre-factory gate stages of the food supply chain. Existing estimates of agricultural food waste are indicative, and based on a 2004 Environment Agency synthesis of evidence available at that time. WRAP will look to provide more robust estimates in the future, including the waste arising overseas to provide food for UK consumption (which is not included in the current document) 
• This results in an estimate of 15 million tonnes of food waste arising in the UK each year (see Figure 1). In comparison, around 41 million tonnes of food are purchased in the UK (the majority for in home use), meaning that the amount of food wasted throughout the supply chain is equivalent to around a third of that purchased. In addition to food waste, there are also 2.2 million tonnes of food or food by-products from food manufacturing used as animal feed, and another 2 million tonnes of animal by-products sent to rendering plants. WRAP’s focus on resource efficiency follows the food and drink material hierarchy (Figure 2).
• Figure 3 illustrates the ‘food loop’ in the UK. Table 1 presents a summary of what is known about food waste and related material arisings in the UK, and the treatment and disposal routes of these. Further detail is given in Appendix 1.