London's battle against food waste 

London is a megacity, which means it generates a substantial amount of food waste that affects the city. The mayor of London has committed to the ambitious target of reducing this food waste by 50% by 2030

Expert on the Circular Flow economy and food waste, Sanna Due thinks that “The lifestyle of people in cities is kind of driving food waste.” Due further stated, “The reasons that we throw away a lot of food, mostly half of the food wasted, are from households. And the major reason is actually that we don't really take time to plan when we go to the grocery store.”

The state of the problem

According to a press release by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), based in the UK, currently, one-third of all food produced globally goes to waste, and nearly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions are due to wasted food. The same report states that the volume of global food loss and waste is predicted to top 2.1 billion tonnes per year by 2030. 

This loss and waste is predicted to cost the global economy around $1.5 trillion. Given the urgency of the issue, how is one of the largest, most diverse and developed cities in the world dealing with this problem and is it on track to meet the mayor’s goal? 

London’s answer to the problem

The post-Brexit UK is performing better in food waste reduction than when it was part of the EU. Since 2007, household food waste has decreased by 22% in the UK. The majority of this decrease comes in the last five years.

London focuses on changing behaviours through campaigns, awareness and redistribution of food waste rather than through policy.

As household food waste is the biggest contributor to this problem in many developed countries, the UK has put this at the forefront of its plan to reduce food waste. The Love Food Hate Waste brand campaign was seen as a success in creating awareness about food waste in households and changing people’s views on food waste in the home.

When food waste comes from households, its environmental impact is much greater than waste from suppliers or wholesalers. 

“So, when you waste food late in the value chain, you also incur all these environmental costs from production, transportation, and bringing it to the supermarket. This includes manufacturing, delivery, bringing it home, perhaps by car and then wasting it."

"You've then just accumulated all these environmental pressures or impacts, which is a very poor stage at which to discard something,” said Due.

The most recent data released by the WRAP in July of this year shows that households made up to 58% of the total food waste in the UK in 2021.

Household waste is seen as the key issue, but food is being wasted at other key stages of the value chain. If food is wasted or considered surplus in the earlier stages of the value chain, it is a lot easier to redistribute.

The redistribution route 

The UK has taken action to introduce policies and invest in programmes designed to promote awareness and make the process of redistributing surplus food easier for the average person. 

London is a prime example of how the entire UK is tackling food waste by redistribution surplus food from major companies to those who need food the most.

Data from WRAP show a 15% increase in the redistribution of surplus food from 2022 to 2023. This redistribution is done through two channels: charities and commercial. 

The Felix Project 

The Felix Project is a food redistribution charity based in London, focused on creating the link that is vitally needed between reducing food waste and redistributing it to those in need.

Production kitchen manager Will Griffiths said, “It started out as a simple way to solve two injustices in London, which are lots of food going to waste and lots of people going hungry.” 

The charity uses surplus food donated by big retail companies such as Ocado and Amazon Fresh to make meals for people in need. They also work with other suppliers, such as farmers, restaurants, and hotels all around the UK.  

The farming sector is the second biggest contributor to food waste in the UK, and this is something that the Felix Project are trying to change. 

Griffiths said, “The food that reaches us would have made its way into the surplus food supply chain for any number of different reasons. It may be overproduction; it may be a discontinued product line or a change of packaging.” 

Each of their four locations has a kitchen which produces up to 4,500 meals a day for food banks, charities, primary schools, and holiday programmes in London using surplus food that would have otherwise gone to waste.

“It all happens very quickly. So, you know the time between the food being received into us and being distributed outwards might be the same day,” said Griffiths.

Technology creates a marketplace for food waste

There are also other ways in which surplus food is being redistributed in London. Apps like Too Good To Go and Olio allow businesses, both large and small, to sell surplus or unsold food at a discounted price to consumers in a convenient manner.

Businesses that use Too Good To Go can sell unsold food in Surprise Bags at a pre-determined time, which allows users of the app to pick up food at a bargain price. 

Shop assistant at Fabrique Bakery in London, Linus Kask, said, “We try to minimise waste as much as possible using Too Good To Go, and if there’s an extra, it’s collected by charity each night.”  

Fabrique Bakery usually sells 10-15 surprise bags of unsold food each day. These bags contain pastries and bread that would not have been sold on the day and would otherwise be wasted come closing time.

Although these redistribution apps are popular, they don’t have as much impact on the problem of reducing food waste as awareness campaigns and redistribution methods. 

Creating awareness of financial and ethical benefits

But they still provide an incentive for businesses to try and reduce food waste.

Kask said that the main reason Fabrique bakery uses these apps is a “combination of an extra revenue stream and to minimise waste for obvious ethical reasons.” 

Within the ten years that Too Good To Go has been operating, the company has registered over 180,000 business partners. The 100 million registered users of the app signify a positive shift in behaviour towards food waste. 

The increased awareness of the negative environmental pressures that food waste creates is beginning to act as a driver for more and more businesses to implement measures that will help them reduce food waste.

Equally as important is increasing the awareness of the financial benefits of reducing food waste for businesses. These apps have now created a marketplace for food waste, and businesses want to be a part of it.

Sanna Due stated that for small businesses, “Sometimes in the beginning it might be some extra cost setting up a system, just mapping how much is thrown away.” But she explains that this cost at the beginning will be environmentally and financially worth it in the long run.

The Waste and Resources Action Programme reported that an organisation can save up to £14 for every £1 they invest in food waste management.  

The mixture of environmental, ethical, and financial benefits will continue to attract businesses to think about their waste. But awareness needs to be heightened in this area.

Meeting the goal 

Although London is taking action to reduce food waste, the goal of halving food waste by 2030 seems unlikely to be met.

It’s easy to see how this goal can be viewed as an aim for the moon, and at least you’ll reach the stars situation.

The UK have achieved an impressive decrease of 22% of food waste from 2007-2022. Impressive as this decrease is, it took 15 years to achieve. With a 28% further decrease needed in a third of the time, the mayor’s goal is unlikely to be met without radical changes being made.