We have known for some time that wasted food makes up almost 40% of the general waste in bins across South Yorkshire and that more than half of this food has been thrown away because it hasn’t been used up in time. This year we are conducting new research to better understand what types of food are being wasted and running trials to help combat this.
From our research we have seen that over 50% of the food in our bins is made up of fruit, vegetables and salad and the majority of the rest is bakery items and meals. To help us understand more about why so much fruit, vegetables and salad ends up in our bins we sent 1,000 surveys to properties in Mexborough and Kiveton Park in summer 2022, 1,500 surveys to properties in Mexborough, Hatfield and Kiveton Park in winter 2022 and 2,000 surveys to properties in Mexborough, Hatfield, Kiveton Park and Worsborough recently. As well as providing valuable insights into some of the reasons for this waste the survey included an opportunity for residents to enter a prize draw to win Love2Shop vouchers.
David Longley from Doncaster and Rebecca Heaton from Rotherham were the lucky winners of our summer 2022 draw. James Gregory from Rotherham, Joanne Gilberthorpe from Doncaster and Thomas Smallwood from Doncaster were the luck winners of our winter 2022/23 draw. Matthew Mayer From Doncaster, Gaynor Landon from Barnsley, G.R from Doncaster and MH from Rotherham were the lucky winners in our spring 2023 draw.
Did you know?
With the exception of onions, bananas and whole pineapple, all fresh fruit, vegetables and salad should be stored in the fridge to keep them fresher for longer.
We now have a better understanding about the types of food items that are being wasted and have run some trials to help residents store fruit, vegetables and salad items so that they stay fresher for longer. Getting the best out of the food we buy is great for our wallets and reduces the carbon emissions related to the growing, processing, transporting, storing and disposal of food waste.
500 properties in Mexborough have received a FreshPod to trial, this nifty device sits in the fridge and reduces ethylene gas (which causes fresh produce to ripen) and reduces bacteria too. This helps fresh fruit, vegetables and salad stay fresher for longer. 500 properties in Kiveton Park have received a reveal wheel, this is a magnet that can be used to look up how best to store fresh produce to make it last as long as possible. 500 properties in Worsborough have received a kit including a recipe list pad, shopping bag and fridge stickers to help increase understanding of where to store fresh fruit, vegetables and salad items.
In a few months time we will be publishing the results of this study.