WRAP report focuses on opportunities to reduce food and packaging waste

Following research into the factors affecting domestic fresh product waste, WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) has released a new report that reveals ‘significant opportunities’ in which both food waste and plastic packaging can be reduced.

The sale of uncut fresh products with sell by dates removed was studied in five key products (bananas, apples, broccoli, cucumber and potatoes), resulting in the potential to save more than 10,000 tonnes of plastic packaging, according to the report’s findings. If the product range was expanded, a further 11,500 tonnes would be saved.

The report thus recommends that retailers sell fresh produce loose and with date labels removed, alongside best-practice storage information for specific lines in order to increase shelf-life without the packaging.

Removing date labels is a recommendation that the Wrap report says could achieve up to 50,000 tonnes of waste prevention per year for the five key lines studied.

The report states that ‘uneaten food is a waste of money, energy, carbon and resources. We must all work together to address any challenges.

‘This new research indicates the scale of the opportunity to reduce household food waste and single use plastic, as well as giving a clear set of recommendations to work towards – to maximise the positive impact.’

Responding to the report, the British Plastics Federation has said: ‘Plastic packaging is rightly understood to reduce food waste and ultimately carbon emissions and although we respect the motivation behind this study, it is important to understand that its focus was solely on a small number of fresh food items and their lifespan within the home. In reality, many fresh products travel hundreds if not thousands of miles on their journey from farm to fork, so a form of packaging is required to protect and preserve them – and plastic packaging still excels at this due to being lightweight, strong and providing a moisture barrier (extending a product’s overall lifespan), in addition to other unique benefits.

‘Wrap’s summary report recommends to “sell loose unless it can be shown that plastic packaging reduces overall food waste” – but we respectfully suggest that calculation should account for the entire journey of the product, rather than simply within the home. Whilst we acknowledge that food waste is most significant in the home, it still occurs in-store and during a product’s journey along the wider supply chain. In addition to preserving food, plastic packaging also provides an extra degree of hygiene and a way to trace its origin.’

The full report, done in partnership with signatories to UK Plastics Pact and the Courtauld Commitment 2030, can be downloaded from the WRAP website.