‘Do One Thing Differently’ to tackle food waste

Northern Ireland’s consumers are being urged to #DoOneThingDifferently with Love Food Hate Waste and change their shopping and eating habits as food waste comes under the spotlight during European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) which runs from 22 – 30 November.

EWWR is a Europe-wide campaign which aims to raise awareness of the impacts of waste on our environment by encouraging positive actions from all sectors of the community including householders, businesses, schools and organisations to take positive action on reducing their waste during the one week period.

In the UK households throw away 7 million tonnes of food and drink a year most of which could have been eaten. This is costing £12.5billion each year or £200 per person in the UK buying and then throwing away good food. If this good food and drink wasn’t ending up in the bin it would have the same positive environmental impact as taking 1 in 4 cars off our roads.

Speaking at a cookery demonstration to launch EWWR, Danielle McCormick a spokesperson for Love Food Hate Waste in NI said, “Food waste is a huge issue and is costing us billions right across the UK and Northern Ireland, that’s why this year EWWR is focusing on this issue which affects us all. Wasting food is not only bad for the environment but is bad for our pockets too costing the average family around £60 a month, a sum that would definitely be much more beneficial in our own pockets, especially in the approach to Christmas”.

“There are two main reasons why we throw away good food, either we cook or prepare too much or we don't use it in time. Over the course of the week we are calling on everyone to commit to doing one thing differently which could include planning meals in advance instead of making it up on the day or paying more attention to date labels rather than letting food go past its use-by date and ending up in the bin. Sharing ideas through twitter @LFHW_UK using #DoOneThingDifferently will also help show how everyone’s now doing their bit to reduce food waste. We would also encourage everyone to visit lovefoodhatewaste.com and make their pledge this EWWR, where you can also find loads of tips, recipes and suggestions of how to be more creative with leftovers rather than simply throwing them in the bin.”

The Love Food Hate Waste campaign aims to help householders make the most of their food, and money, by making some simple changes to the way they manage their food. For more information on European Week for Waste Reduction or for a wide range of tips, information and a whole host of delicious recipes log onto www.lovefoodhatewaste.com