Food waste collections: Lords back best practice model for England

A much publicised Lords report into food waste prevention has labelled the quantities of food waste “morally repugnant”, and has largely placed the blame with supermarkets and food retailers for practices such as BOGOF offers.

Key recommended actions to cut food waste include tax breaks such as VAT exemptions to encourage supermarkets to donate unsold food for human consumption, and a five year food waste prevention strategy from the European Commission by November 2014.

Following evidence that our Chief Executive Charlotte Morton gave at a committee hearing in December around the benefits that separate food waste collections deliver both for waste reduction and the AD sector, the report notes:

the provision of separate food waste collections remains…an important aspect of moving food waste off the bottom rung of the hierarchy. We therefore note with interest the example of the Scottish Government in making separate collections obligatory for urban businesses. We recommend that the UK Government develop a best practice model for such separate collection, at both household and commercial level, for Councils throughout England.

Although the report is very much focused on how food waste can be reduced or redistributed, it does note that ‘energy and nutrient recovery will remain essential components of food waste management, as preferred options to disposal’.