GOVERNMENT MUST DO MORE TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE - WILLIAMS

5.22.59pm GMT Tue 8th Dec 2009

Roger Williams, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and Liberal Democrat Shadow Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson, has called on the Government to do more to reduce the amount of food wasted by individual households.

Answers to Parliamentary questions show 8.3million tonnes of food and drink are thrown away by households each year and that the majority (5.3million tonnes) could have been consumed.

This avoidable food waste is worth £12bn, the equivalent of £480 per household per year, and increases to £680 per year when those households have children.

Roger Williams said:

"These figures are absolutely staggering.

"The Government claims to be concerned about food security, yet it is seemingly unable to reduce food waste.

"I raised the issue of funding programmes to reduce food waste in 2008 and was told that the funding provided to the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) had almost halved between 2005 and 2008.

"In 2008, the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs stated that domestic food waste was 6.7 tonnes. This year it has risen to 8.3 tonnes so clearly the reduced funding has affected the ability of WRAP to reduce food waste.

"The Government must do more to promote food security and support WRAP in the work that it does to reduce food waste, as well as helping members of the public to reduce as little food as possible."