Retailers could save up to £7,000 a year by recycling leftover food waste, a new report has found.
According to research by Keenan Recycling, major retailers in the UK are spending £50,862 every year on sending their food waste to landfill, but recycling some of that waste could keep costs down and reduces the impact on the environment at the same time.
The national food waste recycling company revealed that 37% of food retailers in the UK either aren’t aware of upcoming legislation on food waste, or if they are, have little or no understanding of it.
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Keenan Recycling also found that almost half (41%) of UK food retailers do not think food waste is a core priority and over a third (36%) said that they do not recycle food waste at all.
The new data comes as proposed legislation from the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) new Environmental Act is soon to be introduced in England, which plans to make it a legal requirement for companies to separate and recycle food waste.
Despite the lack of understanding of food waste in the retail sector, half of respondents (49%) said that their business is working to gain an understanding of the proposed legislation – which looks to make food waste recycling mandatory for food retailers producing over 50kg of waste.
“Rising inflation and a looming recession combined with staff shortages and customers cutting back on their spending, has led to a tough time for the food retail industry,” managing director at Keenan Recycling, Grant Keenan said.
“Grocers and convenience store managers are having to think about how they can cut costs to maintain profitability and minimise the amount of added expense they are passing on to customers.
“On top of this, with pending legislative change and pressure for businesses to make their own net zero plans public, food recycling will be key to how operations function sustainably in the future, so the best time to become involved with it is now.”
Keenan added that while legislation in Scotland has been in place since 2014, the rest of the UK appears to be following suit.
“In fact, similar legislative change is due to come in to force in Wales this October, with updates to English legislation proposed for later this year.
“This means that food retailers need to spend time understanding food waste recycling and its many benefits, not only financially, but also when it comes to resource productivity and creating a more circular economy.”
The news comes as Asda is removing Use By dates on over half of its own-brand yoghurts in a bid to help customers combat food waste in the home.
