Region’s rubbish excuses for binning their food

New research has revealed that households across the region are binning hundreds of thousands of tonnes of food every year because they cook too much, or allow products to go past their sell-by date.

The training charity IGD has put together the top 10 of consumers’ reasons for throwing food away in Yorkshire and Humberside as it launches a new war on waste.

At the top was food going off before its use by date, closely followed by keeping leftovers and forgetting to eat them on time, with allowing products to go past their sell-by date coming third. Fussy eaters, particularly children, were also blamed for consistent bin-sinning offences.

The findings come as IGD launches a new campaign, Working on Waste, with employers across the region. Their aim is to reduce the amount of food workers throw away at home by busting sell-by myths and educating them on portion planning, making the most of leftovers, utilizing their freezer.

“Seven million tonnes of food and drink is still being thrown away by UK homes every year, costing consumers £12.5bn – so there’s work to be done,” said chief executive Joanne Denney-Finch.

“Pivotal to this campaign is inviting companies from across the supply chain to come together under the same roof to explore all the ways in which the industry can work together in this area.”

Companies taking part in the campaign include Asda, which hosted a roadshow in Leeds yesterday.