Residents' help sought to tackle Hertfordshire’s staggering food waste problem

Hertfordshire County Council and the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership are asking residents to complete a survey about their food disposal habits.

It is hoped that this will help to tackle avoidable food waste across the county.

A study in 2020 found that 24 per cent of the weight in Hertfordshire’s rubbish bins was made up of avoidable food waste.

This is food and drink which could have been eaten or drunk at the time that it was thrown away, including packaged food yet to reach its use-by date.

Edible food being thrown away has a huge impact on the environment, with all the resources and energy that went into producing the food being wasted in the process, as well as greenhouse gas emissions caused by the food as it breaks down.

The county council would like to understand the reasons for this, and residents can help by completing a short survey on their food disposal habits at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/foodwastesurvey.

As an added incentive, people completing the survey can choose to enter a draw for the chance to win £250 in shopping vouchers.

Eric Buckmaster, executive member for the environment and chair of the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership said: “Avoidable food waste has a huge negative impact on our environment, both from the energy it takes to produce and transport the food, as well as the greenhouse gases emitted once it enters the waste system.”

“We need to do more to tackle this issue in Hertfordshire, by completing this survey our residents will give us valuable insight into the kind of help and support they might need to reduce the amount of edible food they throw away.”

The Hertfordshire Waste Partnership is a partnership between the county council and Hertfordshire’s ten district and borough councils, working together to reduce, reuse and recycle the county’s waste.

Data shows that 70 per cent of all food thrown away in the UK comes from people’s homes.

It is estimated that the average family in the UK can save around £720 per year by eating all the food in their home and not throwing it in the bin.

Food waste releases methane gas as it breaks down, methane is more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide as it traps heat within the atmosphere.