A Wasted Opportunity: Reducing and Managing London's Food Waste
London produces nearly 2 million tonnes of food waste every year, with a cash value of over £2.5bn.
Without realising, individual households waste £600 worth of food every year, most of which is edible.
All this wasted food has a devastating impact on the planet, which suffers from the extraction of finite resources, for example through over-fishing, and contributes to the climate emergency due to its oversized carbon footprint.
When this waste is processed, too much ends up in landfill or is sent for incineration.
London’s waste therefore produces 250,000 tonnes of unnecessary CO2 emissions every year.
However, there are practical steps that the Mayor can take to help us reduce our food waste and make better use of the waste that does arise.
London’s households and businesses need to be supported to take advantage of innovative solutions to reduce their food waste, as well as separately collect any waste that does arise, so that it can be disposed of in the most sustainable manner.
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