Too Good To Go has revealed that Brits are throwing away almost 80 million perfectly edible food items each week.
According to the surplus food app, Brits are ditching 18 million meat and dairy items, 22 million bread and pasta items, 30.9 million fruit and vegetables and 8.7 million sweets, crisps, and chocolate every week.
To mark Stop Food Waste Day (26th April), research from the UK’s leading food saving app Too Good To Go has discovered that a quarter (24%) of Brits are spending more money on food than last year, but 1 in 10 are now wasting more.
As the cost of living crisis continues to bite, just over a quarter (26%) of people surveyed check the best before date to determine if a product is still edible and only 13% actually taste a sample of the product to see if it’s fresh.
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It comes as Too Good To Go has reached the milestone of saving 200 million meals from going to waste since its launch in 2016, equivalent to 500,000 tonnes of CO2e.
The data also found that young people contribute most to usable food waste, with older generations trusting their senses more than best before dates.
71% of 18–34-year-olds are reportedly binning at least one piece of fruit or vegetables per week, whereas less than half (43%) of those aged 55+ are doing the same.
Similarly, almost a quarter of those aged 55+ claim to not throw any food away, versus only 3% of 18–24-year-olds.
When it comes to meat and dairy, Londoners (47%) and those in Northern Ireland (46%) are the most wasteful, with almost half throwing away at least 1-2 meat and dairy items per week.
Those in East Anglia (26%), the South East (28%) and South West (28%) are more careful, with around a quarter of people throwing away at least 1-2 usable meat and dairy items.
When it comes to fruit and veg, Londoners (68%) and Northern Ireland (65%) are the worst offenders for throwing away at least 1-2 edible fruit and vegetables per week, compared to only half of people in Wales (53%) and Yorkshire (54%).
“We know that everyone is feeling the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis and the price of everyday essentials has continued to soar,” country director of Too Good To Go UK and Ireland, Sophie Trueman said.
“We are on a mission to fight food waste, something which is not only great for our planet, but can also help consumers cut costs – ultimately making their money go further.”
She added: “Our belief is that you don’t need to sacrifice buying your favourite foods in order to be sustainable and save money – you can instead adapt your habits, so you make the most out of everything you buy.”
