Warwickshire News Mine

Warwickshire County Council is asking people to reveal just a few of their waste habits when it comes to throwing food away to stand the chance of winning one of 20 great goodie bags.

By visiting http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/lovefoodhatewaste people can complete a quick survey to help the county council to find out more about the food waste habits in the county.

This could be anything from leftovers scraped off a plate, through to out-of-date food in the fridge, but WRAP believes that a third of the food we buy ends up in the bin.

National waste champions WRAP, revealed the waste figure for Warwickshire to the Warwickshire Waste Partnership last week.

Warwickshire County Council and the waste partnership are supporting WRAP’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign from this month for the next year in an attempt to get local people to think about the food they are throwing in the bin.

Cllr Martin Heatley, Chairman of the partnership and the county council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: “We’d like to hear from as many people as possible to get a truly local feel to the situation in Warwickshire. WRAP has done a great deal of work, but we’d like to hear from the local people themselves about their food waste habits.

“What I like about this campaign though is it isn’t nannying people and telling them what they should do. It’s just offering simple advice that could save a fortune on food bills.

“Advice as simple as making a shopping list so that you know what you are buying, and shopping for meals, rather than just putting lots of nice ingredients in the trolley and not having a clue what to do with them all.”

Nationally the UK is throwing away the equivalent of £10.2 billion worth of unwanted fruit, vegetables and other food each year.

Most fruit and vegetables keep longer at lower temperatures. For example, oranges and pears will last up to two weeks longer if kept in the fridge.  While some bulky vegetables such as potatoes and onions can be stored in a cool dark area and refrigeration is not necessary.

Over the next 12 months Warwickshire County Council, with the support of Warwickshire Waste Partnership, will be holding a series of events, promotions and activities to raise awareness on food waste, and what can be done to reduce it.

More information and recipe ideas can be found by visiting http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

For more information on the campaign please contact the Waste Minimisation Team on 01926 412458 or visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/recyclewarks and click on the ‘reduce’ section or http://www.wrap.org.uk

Link to WCC