New campaign tackles Scotland’s hundreds of thousands of tonnes of food waste
The Scottish Government has paired with Zero Waste Scotland to reduce the country’s food waste by a third in the next six years.
The Food Waste Reduction Action Plan (FWRAP) will aim to get rid of 297,000 tonnes of food waste per year, an amount which costs nearly £1.1 billion.
Named ‘Food Gone Bad’, the Scottish Government’s new campaign aims to highlight how simple it is to reduce and recycle foods like banana skins, egg shells, and coffee grounds.
Only 55% of Scottish households are recycling their waste, despite over 80% having access to the proper facilities.
Zero Waste Scotland’s CEO, Iain Gulland, said: “Reducing Scotland’s food waste by a third would benefit the environment as much as taking almost one in every five cars off the road.
“Everyone can play a part in reducing Scotland’s waste.
“Scotland’s ambitious and pioneering approach to tackling food waste will help experts and leaders address this global problem.
“We want to make people aware of the real damage food waste is doing so they can make an informed choice to help reduce and recycle their food and fight climate change.”
The quango said one household’s weekly food waste could be enough to power 35 episodes of Game of Thrones, and that a banana peel could charge a mobile phone twice.
Greenhouse gases like methane – more destructive than carbon dioxide – are produced when food waste is taken to landfill rots, damaging the environment and driving climate change.
It can be converted into green energy if recycled properly and taken to an Anaerobic Digestion facility, flowing back into the national grid.
Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “Whilst some food waste is unavoidable, it is important that the people of Scotland understand how they can make a positive impact on their environment by reducing and recycling unpreventable food waste.
“The Food Waste Reduction Action Plan advises households and businesses on the simple steps we can all take to reduce food waste, while the new food waste campaign drives home the message that unavoidable food waste should be recycled.
“I want everyone to be empowered by the message that a behaviour change as simple as choosing to recycle unavoidable food waste can convert it from being extremely harmful to the environment to something that becomes a benefit, from green electricity that can be fed back into the national grid to good quality fertiliser that will help crops to grow.”
