Funding cuts won’t halt war on waste
Dr Liz Goodwin, chief executive of the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), has insisted that the organisation has the funds to take its work on tackling food waste forward, despite this year’s budget cuts.
At the start of the year, WRAP revealed that the government had asked it to cut its annual budget by a quarter - or £15M. However, speaking to Food Manufacture, chief executive Dr Liz Goodwin said: “We have got a budget for food waste to do what we possibly can to push progress as far as we possibly can do.”
However, Goodwin said that WRAP had been forced to refocus on core priorities, as would be revealed in its business plan, which was scheduled to be published on June 11. The plan will be made public at the Chartered Institute of Waste Management conference in Torbay, Devon.“Food waste is still a priority for the government,” said Goodwin. “The government sets priorities and we deliver on that.”
Goodwin was speaking at the launch of WRAP’s The Food We Waste Report, on May 8. The report, based on extensive examination of consumer waste disposal habits, revealed that a third of the food bought by shoppers was thrown away.
A breakdown indicated that this figure included seven million slices of bread, 1.3M yoghurts and yoghurt drinks and 440,000 homemade and ready-made meals. Of the avoidable food waste generated, 40%, or 1Mt, was not even touched and a tenth, 340Mt, was still in date.
