Food waste collections: Research and evidence Chris Mills Programme Area Manager- Food Waste Collections

Total estimated UK arisings of food (and drink) waste is ~15 million tonnes per year  7.2mt household  3.2mtfood manufacturing (industrial)  0.6mthospitality  0.4mtretail/distribution  0.1mtschools  3.0mtother: commercial/agriculture/hospitals

Trends Significant rise in food services to households Recent growth in separate collections Drivers of LF Tax, targets, service improvement Contribution to National Targets Room for further capture

Kitchen caddies – all scheme types

Combined garden/food waste

Kerbside buckets for separate food collection

Food only – dedicated

Co-collection

Correlation between participation and deprivation

Weekly food – different refuse frequencies

Combined garden and food systems Typically lower capture – frequency and mixing with garden issues Frequent waste composition is essential Seasonality Refuse Collection Vehicle and wheeled bin collection IVC destination High additional treatment cost

WRAP cost and operational performance benchmarks Indicative cost and performance data by rurality grouping Industry capex/opex benchmarks Gross costs of options Net costs Round sizes Pick rates

Non-participation in food waste collections Importance of frequency Single biggest factor is always - “we don’t produce enough food waste” Concerns about hygiene, odour or vermin raised by non-participants – not participants No concern over container numbers

Hospitality & Food Service Agreement Prevention target: Reduce food and associated packaging waste arising by 5% by the end of This would be against a 2012 baseline and be measured by CO 2 e emissions Waste management target: Increase the overall rate of food and packaging waste being recycled, sent to Anaerobic Digestion or composted to at least 70% by the end of Business benefits (25% of sector achieve targets) = £76m net savings to business and 570,000 tonnes CO 2 e saving

But few current SME collections… SMEs unwilling to pay extra Recruitment can be difficult; price, convenience, space, contract terms Very low take up by telesales/ direct mail; need pre-arranged visits Refuse charges made by lift not weight

Recent Work on Business Food Collections Published business case Funded commercial collection demonstration projects Development of new web tools and guidance New cost calculator for businesses to identify cost and performance of options

Business benefits Significant savings upstream Using yield data from collections to inform stock control Savings for larger businesses Collaborative procurement opportunities New WRAP report on “True Cost of Food Waste” for businesses

DepackagingFeedstock supply

Macerators Ban in Scotland from 2016 Defra CBA for HH collections- on environmental and financial grounds collection favoured WRAP CBA on NHS food options ZWS – monitoring on NHS sites Concerns raised over sewer impact and measuring diversion

27 Web support WRAP websites across the UK - Supporting households, Authorities and businesses on food waste management Love Food Hate Waste Resource Efficient Scotland Business Resource Efficiency Hub SME Food Collections Local Authority Advisory support

Current Collections Work Collections from public sector and food manufacturers 2.Further research on liners and de-packaging 3.Disseminating work on commercial collections 4.Developing business support tools 5.Interventions to improving performance of household food waste collections

Considerations in previous landfill bans or regions setting high targets Business case and cost of options Reviewing current performance Communications for scheme changes De-packaging infrastructure for commercial collections Treatment contract implications Business facing support Monitoring and enforcement

Further Information: WRAP Northern Ireland The Mount 2 Woodstock Link Belfast BT6 8DD Tel: