Lorna Slater: Cutting back on food waste could save Scots homes £440 per year

The minister for Green skills said about 600,000 tonnes of waste food are thrown away each year in Scotland.

Lorna Slater (left) with Rachel Green of The Ripple cafe (Scottish Government/PA)

Scots are being urged to help save the planet by no longer throwing away more than £1 billion worth of food and drink each year.

About 600,000 tonnes of household food waste is thrown away in Scotland every year – food which then sits in landfill, decomposes, and produces deadly greenhouse gas, methane.

Green MSP Lorna Slater, minister for green skills, circular economy and biodiversity, said “in the ongoing climate emergency, it’s impossible to ignore the global issue of food waste”.

Reducing the amount of food being thrown away will not only help reduce the number of harmful emissions, but save Scots households about £440 each year.

Lorna Slater is urging people to cut down on food waste (Scottish Government)

Launching the Scottish Government’s Food Waste Campaign at The Ripple community cafe in Edinburgh on Wednesday, she joined cafe director, Rachel Green, and Iain Gulland, of Zero Waste Scotland, to urge Scots to “save food, save money, save the Earth”.

The Ripple is a hub which offers freshly made, nutritious and affordable meals to the local community using redistributed food.

“We can all do more to reduce and recycle food waste, cutting emissions and helping Scotland on our journey to net zero,” said Ms Slater, co-leader of the Scottish Greens, who added places like the cafe were playing “a vital role in utilising food which would otherwise go to waste while also providing a welcoming space to for locals”.

The Government said the new drive aims to show that more action is needed to reduce and recycle food waste to help Scotland reach net zero and stop contributing to climate change.

Mr Gulland, Zero Waste Scotland’s chief executive, said: “Scottish households continue to throw away a staggering amount of food waste, totalling £1.1 billion in unnecessary food and drink purchases each year.

“We can all play our part by making simple, sustainable, changes, such as meal planning, storing food correctly, checking the cupboards for ingredients before hitting the shops, and getting inventive with leftovers.

“Getting food onto our plates is a resource intensive process so, when food is thrown out, all the raw materials are also wasted. We can have a huge, positive impact on the climate by stopping perfectly edible food from going to waste in the first place.”

As part of the “save food, save money, save the Earth” initiative, it will showcase quick and simple steps people can take to reduce their food waste and recycle the waste they cannot avoid, from banana skins to eggshells.