Friday 9 September 2016

New food waste initiative to save Londoners £330m

An initiative which could help Londoners save £330 million a year by reducing food waste has been launched.

The 'Transforming City FOod hAbits for Life' (TRiFOCAL) project aims to reduce avoidable food waste and increase awareness of more healthy and sustainable eating.

The initiative is led by Resource London, a partnership between WRAP and the London Waste and Recycling Board. The EU Commission provided €3.2 million (£2.6m) to deliver it and act as test bed for other European cities.

Households in the capital throw away an estimated 900,000 tonnes of food each year, of which 540,000 tonnes could have been eaten, which is not only environmentally damaging but a huge waste of money for consumers, local authorities and businesses, states WRAP.

Starting in September 2016 and running for three years, TRiFOCAL will engage with 33 London boroughs including householders, hospitality and food service businesses, local communities and schools.

Antony Buchan, Head of Programme at Resource London said: “TRiFOCAL London represents a fantastic opportunity for Resource London to look at the bigger picture around food: what we consume in London and how we deal with the unavoidable food waste that’s generated.

"We want to help Londoners consume food more sustainably, save money and get a bit healthier by doing it and then use their food recycling services more effectively."