• Household food waste fell by 9% from 2021 to 2022, a reduction of approximately 400,000 tonnes, due to pressure of cost-of-living post Covid-19.
• The greenhouse gas emissions relating to household food waste in 2022 were the equivalent to 16 million tonnes of CO₂. Household food waste prevention has been identified as a key action area to meet Net Zero.

• In 2022 local authorities spent around £500 million disposing of food waste in residual waste. 83% of food waste was in our rubbish bins and was incinerated or sent to landfill. 

• WRAP calls on government, retailers, brands, manufacturers and funders to refresh focus on household food waste through policy, changing the retail environment, and increasing public engagement to prevent food waste. WRAP is driving action through collaboration.

Latest data from global environmental action NGO, WRAP shows that household food waste decreased by 9% between 2021 to 2022. This reduction was catalysed by two main factors: Covid-19 restrictions lifting meaning less food was eaten at home in 2022, and the rise of food prices during 2022 and into 2023, particularly up to December 2022 when food prices increased by approximately 17%.

Given this decrease, WRAP's new estimate (2022) of the food waste from UK households stands at 6 million tonnes. This includes food in waste streams collected by local authorities, going down the sewer and home composted. Of this total, 4.4 million tonnes were edible food with the remaining 1.6 million tonnes inedible parts such as eggshells, bones and fruit peel.

Despite this reduction in food waste, UK shoppers are still spending £17 billion on food that is thrown away, which is an average of £1,000 a year for a household of four people.

These results show that while it is possible to significantly reduce widescale household food waste in a short space of time, the UK is not on track to meet international targets (UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3).

The magnitude of the drivers – a pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis – were extreme and give an indication of the scale of interventions required to see further reductions. These were unprecedented public pressures that are no longer pushing down food waste to the same degree. For household food waste to meet the international targets, it must fall by 36% by 2030. Therefore, policy and behaviour-change interventions on a similar scale to these exceptional drivers are necessary. We need collaboration across government, retailers, brands, manufacturers, funders and the public to take responsibility for household food waste prevention and act together.

The Net Zero Transition Plan for the UK Food System,  published in November 2024, identified household food waste prevention as a key demand-side action, along with diet shift, to meet Net Zero goals. The report highlighted the opportunity to reduce and even eliminate food waste - WRAP has the framework to scale it.

WRAP is using the publication of the UK's latest household food waste data as a warning to the UK and other countries that unless action is taken on a larger scale, we will not achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 to halve global food waste and make it much more difficult to meet Net Zero goals.

Catherine David, WRAP CEO said: 'While collaboration through WRAP's UK Food and Drink Pact has propelled the UK in the field of food waste prevention, it took the end of a pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis to get faster impact. This is a wakeup call that we all need to act: here in the UK to meet our targets, and through global co-ordination to share expertise and ensure this crucial area is a higher priority and is adequately funded. This is imperative if we are to continue reducing household food waste at scale.'

Prime time for more action

Since 2007, the first year of measurement and against which UK targets are measured, household food waste has decreased by 22%. To achieve further action to meet our targets on food waste, WRAP is advocating for alignment across policy (for example, removing packaging from fresh produce), changes in the retail environment to help make it easier for people buy the right amount and use more of what they buy, and increasing public engagement to reach more people and support them to act.

Catherine David explains, "We all need to make the most of our food. Government needs to help by introducing policies that level the playing field. Retailers also need to help their customers, whether that's by ensuring loose fruit and veg is available, or that people are not financially penalised if they buy, for example, a smaller loaf of bread – and helping them make the most of the food they buy. And all of us as consumers can take action – noticing when we waste food and making changes to reduce food waste – such as making a shopping list, buying loose fruit and veg, storing things in the right place so our food lasts as long as possible."

WRAP approach

• Public engagement – reaching more people and enabling them to act - since 2021, Love Food Hate Waste's Food Waste Action Week has been helping millions of households to act on food waste.

 WRAP's new report shows that across the UK, the amount of food waste in household food waste collections was 17% of the total - 83% of food waste is still found in the residual waste stream (being incinerated or going to landfill) rather than in food waste collections. Household food waste collections divert wasted food away from the residual stream and help people physically see what they are throwing away – making it much more real to people.

 Habit changes are needed - 78% of people think that they waste less food than average. When paired with targeted awareness interventions around food waste and food management behaviours, food waste collections are a major opportunity to help millions of people to reduce food waste. In a significant move this year, WRAP is collaborating with governments and pioneering organisations such as Ocado Retail, Tesco and Hampshire Council to invest in designing, testing and scaling behaviour change interventions that help people realise their own food waste levels, reduce it and use food recycling collections.

 WRAP is driving a national mission to reduce household food waste working collectively with national and local governments and retailers and call on more organisations including brands and manufacturers to join them. 

• Brand and retailer action – WRAP found nearly 40% of household food waste happens because food wasn't used in time. Making it easy for people to reduce food waste by helping people to buy an appropriate amount of food and store it optimally sets people up for success. WRAP is promoting key actions to slash food waste with brands and retailers including selling loose fresh produce, ensuring availability and appropriate pricing of smaller packs, and changing product labelling. On WRAP's guidance, many retailers have removed 'Best Before' dates from fresh produce and swapped 'Use By' dates for 'Best Before' dates on more dairy products – slashing food waste by enabling people to use their judgement of when food is good to eat.
• Policy – Earlier this year, the UK Government included food waste in its Nationally Determined Contributions* underlining the importance of preventing food waste in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, 9 out of 10 countries are failing to commit to tacking food loss and waste in their Nationally Determined Contributions. With global food waste currently contributing between 8-10% of climate warming greenhouse gas emissions, and totalling more than one billion tonnes every year, WRAP demands more action from businesses and governments on an international level.  In October 2024, WRAP called for a consultation on a packaging ban on 21 fruit and vegetable items.

WRAP also recently announced a new partnership with Tesco during London Climate Action Week with a call to businesses and governments to act urgently to reduce global food loss and waste.

Waste Minister Mary Creagh said: "A reduction in food waste is welcome, and we are clear further swift action is needed across the supply chain and in households to stop perfectly good food from being chucked away.

"We are moving to a circular economy, where we make the best use of the resources we have as possible, and will continue to work with food businesses, producers and charities to drive down food waste.

"This includes supporting more good food being redistributed through our new £15 million farm surplus fund and put on the plates of those in need."

Household food waste is an ongoing challenge – one that's not only costing people, but businesses, government and the planet. 

Food Waste Facts - key facts doc

The food and drink we waste that could have been eaten (4.4 million tonnes) would fill:

• 8 Wembley Stadiums (London, UK)
• 88 Royal Albert Halls
• 3,500 Olympic sized swimming pools
• 470,000 bin lorries

Every day in UK homes we waste:

• 1,300 tonnes of potatoes, which is equivalent to 8.2 million potatoes.
• 190 tonnes of carrots, which is equivalent to 3.5 million carrots
• 130 tonnes of bananas, which is equivalent to 1.1 million bananas
• 130 tonnes of tomatoes, which is equivalent to 1.6 million tomatoes
• 190 tonnes of apples, which is equivalent to 1.3 million apples
• 46 tonnes of oranges, which is equivalent to 410,000 oranges
• 81 tonnes of onions, which is equivalent to 820,000 onions
• 50 tonnes of ham, which is equivalent to 2 million slices of ham
• 960 tonnes of bread, which is equivalent to 24 million slices or 1.2 million loaves
• The equivalent of 2.3 million glasses of milk