4.4 million Apples a day...

I came across a frightening article on the WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) site this week that said a phenomenal 4.4 million whole apples are being thrown away every day in the UK.

The figures came from the WRAP’s ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ campaign, aimed at tackling food waste in homes across the UK. The figures also show that we throw away nearly £3 billion worth of perfectly good fruit and vegetables in a single year.

The reason for such profligacy? WRAP teamed up with Sainsbury’s to find out, and discovered the primary reason behind such waste was people were not eating food before it went off. Interestingly, the problem is exacerbated because people were not storing the fresh produce in the best place once they got it home.

Waste on such a scale is pretty staggering. Given the emphasis placed on not only eating and living healthily, but reducing one’s carbon footprint in a variety of ways, purchasing produce that no doubt racked up the air miles to reach our plates and then throwing it away is extremely worrying. This is before thought is given to the number of people world-wide who go hungry everyday.

In response to these findings, the Love Food Hate Waste Campaign is trialling new storage guidance to customers Sainsbury’s stores and online. The guidance centres on the following advice – showing how shoppers can keep their food fresh for longer, and inspiring them to use the food in a variety of ways. Should people heed the advice, it will be to the benefit of their health, and the planet’s.