UK retailers fail to meet food and packaging waste pledges

Jan 31, 2012 General News 0

January 31, 2012 guardian.co.uk by Rebecca Smithers

Thousands of tonnes of fruit and vegetables are still thrown away after being rejected for being the wrong size or shape. Photograph: Garry Gay/Getty Images

Thousands of tonnes of fruit and vegetables, milk and yogurt are thrown away annually for being the wrong shape or size.

British retailers have failed to meet a pledge to cut back on supply chainfood and packaging waste, with thousands of tonnes of fruit and vegetables, milk and yogurt thrown away every year, after being rejected for being the wrong shape, size or standard.

The disclosure is embarrassing for the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which has successfully met or exceeded a host of other government and voluntary targets which aim to slash the sector’s carbon footprint, such as diverting more waste from landfill and helping to reduce domestic food waste.

In its annual green progress report published on Tuesday, the BRC says that reducing waste, energy and water usage makes good business sense and claims that much of the progress made to date is the result of successful collaboration.

The BRC estimates that the retail sector is directly responsible for around 3.5% of UK greenhouse gas emissions – with emissions from corporate buildings, refrigeration and transport accounting for over three-quarters of this figure.

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