Food waste: review of 2019 waste reduction action plan

2 Our Progress: 2019 Action Areas and Measures

The FWRAP set out the actions required to meet the 33% target, and committed to making the change required possible by working across the following interconnected areas:

1. Improved monitoring and infrastructure.

2. Sector leadership.

3. Public engagement and communications.

4. Supporting delivery of a new approach to food waste.

2.1 Improved monitoring and infrastructure

Our 2019 commitment

To reduce waste effectively, we need to improve our monitoring, measurement and reporting of food waste across all sectors. We will:

• Consult, by the end of 2019, on a mandatory national food waste reduction target and mandatory reporting of Scotland’s food surplus and waste by food businesses.
• Develop the infrastructure to support the reporting of food waste.

Our Progress

• Consulted on and introduced Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill to Scottish Parliament, including proposed powers to require persons or businesses to make information publicly available which are intended to be used to introduce mandatory public reporting of food waste and surplus.
• 60 businesses operating in Scotland signed up to WRAP’s ‘Target, Measure, Act’ approach to food waste reduction since launching the FWRAP.
• Development of a UK-wide Digital Waste Tracking System, due to be rolled out from 2024.
• The Scottish Government’s £70m Recycling Improvement Fund is enhancing food waste recycling collections.

Progress has focused on action to support effective data collection. Some ongoing actions include sharing our knowledge and learning from international partners through forums such as the EU Platform on Food Loss and Food Waste. One ongoing action that will help significantly address data gaps is for businesses to report their food waste and further detail on this is provided below.

Mandatory Public Reporting of Food Waste and Surplus

The 2019 FWRAP committed to consult on mandatory public reporting of Scotland’s food waste and surplus by food businesses. The Scottish Government consulted on this issue through its 2019 and 2022 consultations on proposals for a Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, and the Circular Economy and Waste Route Map consultation in 2022. All three consultations generated strong overall support for the introduction of mandatory public reporting of food waste.

As part of the consultations, stakeholders have expressed a range of opinions on how public reporting of food waste should be implemented. Key considerations that were identified include the potential burden of reporting on small and medium enterprises, the potential different approaches to reporting on food waste across the UK, and how food waste is defined and classified.

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill was introduced to Scottish Parliament on 13 June 2023. It includes powers for Scottish Ministers to require businesses to make information publicly available about anything stored or disposed of by them. Subject to the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill completing its Parliamentary passage, it is likely that food waste and surplus will be one of the first areas to be subject to mandatory public reporting, which would be implemented through secondary legislation, in order to enable businesses to take targeted action and promote transparency about the amount of food waste and surplus.

Improving Food Waste Data

The Scottish Government and SEPA have been working with other governments and regulators in the UK on the development of a Digital Waste Tracking Service. This will offer a step change in the quality and timeliness of waste data, including site-specific total volumes of food waste arising from businesses. This service will offer some of the granular detail necessary to facilitate the production of annual estimates of food waste in Scotland and potentially identify supply chain or geographical food waste hotspots. Digital Waste Tracking is expected to be implemented fully in 2025.

A previous national Waste Composition Analysis of household waste was undertaken in 2013-2015 and indicated that 23% of all household waste collected by local authorities was food waste^[11]. This waste goes to landfill where the food waste breaks down anaerobically, releasing harmful methane gas. An updated Household Waste Composition Analysis was commissioned by Zero Waste Scotland in 2021. This analysis was completed to understand if the requirements on separate collections of waste in the Environmental Protection Act 1990^[12] (as amended by the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012) have helped reduce the amount of food waste in the residual stream, and if the other work described in this review has reduced the total amount of food wasted.

Data from 15 Local Authorities was sampled between 2021 and 2023, and the results of the analysis were published in October 2023^[13]. The report indicated that there was an increase of 32,000 tonnes in the total amount of food waste collected at the kerbside (from 409,000 tonnes in 2013-2015 to 441,000 tonnes in 2021). Food waste is collected by local authorities in the residual bin, and through separate collections. Separate collections are either food waste only or mixed with garden waste. These separate collections allow the food and garden waste to be recycled through composting or anaerobic digestion. Between 2013-2015 and 2021-2023, food waste disposed of in the residual bin decreased from 332,000 tonnes to 330,000 tonnes, but the amount of food waste disposed of through separate collections increased from 77,000 tonnes to 111,000 tonnes. This increase in separate food waste collections accounts for the increase in the total amount of food waste. Food waste accounted for 24% of all household waste collected by local authorities, compared to 23% in 2013-2015.

The Scottish Government has been a signatory to WRAP’s Courtauld Commitment 2030^[14] for the duration of the FWRAP. As part of this wider programme^[15], 300^[16] UK businesses are implementing the ‘Target, Measure, Act’ approach to food waste monitoring in their operations, which includes nearly a third of all large food businesses in the UK.

Of these 300 businesses, 60 have operations in Scotland. In 2022, the Scottish Government reaffirmed its dedication as a signatory, which has refocused its efforts towards the UN SDG 12.3. The food waste data reported by signatories to WRAP plays an important part of understanding food waste across the supply chain at a UK level and how this compares to Scotland.

Improving Infrastructure

Our engagement and consultation process on proposals for the Circular Economy and Waste Route Map suggests there is a public perception that recycling food waste does not contribute to food waste because the waste is being recycled^[17].

The aim is to prevent food from becoming waste in the first place, and strive to achieve the maximum value and minimum environmental impact from any remaining waste. The food waste hierarchy^[18] sets out the most preferable ways of minimising the impact of food waste if preventing it is not possible. It states that surplus food from producers, manufacturers and retailers that could become waste should be redistributed to humans if possible.

If this isn’t possible, it should be sent to animal feed. If it cannot be fed to animals it could be used as a feedstock for biorefining process that can turn it into valuable materials that can be used in other processes that traditionally use fossil-fuel based materials or unsustainable materials. If none of the options above are possible then the food waste can be recycled through anaerobic digestion or composting. The Scottish Government is aware households may not be able to fulfil all of these actions. However, organisations and businesses across Scotland should be exhausting all of these options before considering disposing of food waste through incineration or disposal to landfill or sewer which have the most negative environmental impacts.

80% of households in Scotland now have access to food recycling collections, and although SEPA has reported a 107% increase in the amount of household food waste between 2011 and 2021, the results of the waste composition study indicate that there is still a significant amount of food waste in the residual waste that could be recycled^[19].

To break down the barriers to food waste reuse and recycling, the 2019 FWRAP committed to consulting on the rural exemption for food waste recycling collections and related separation requirements.

Significant preparatory work was done in late 2019. However, the consultation was delayed due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the significant challenges the pandemic placed on local authorities, businesses and waste management services.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with local authorities and citizens to improve recycling from households and making the right choices the easier choices for households. The Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill includes provisions which will allow Scottish Ministers to publish a new statutory Household Recycling Code of Practice following co-design with local authorities and citizens in order to deliver better, more consistent recycling services and to maximise the amount of waste diverted from disposal. This includes increasing the collection and recycling of food waste by ensuring that as many households as possible have access to this service. The Scottish Government remains committed to consulting on the rural exemption for collections in order to inform the development of the Code of Practice and the co-design of waste and recycling services.

In 2021, the Scottish Government launched the £70m Recycling Improvement Fund, to help modernise local authority recycling infrastructure and services^[20]. Over £60 million has now been awarded to 21 local authorities to increase the quantity and quality of recycling across Scotland. The Fund is supporting a range of improvements, including more frequent recycling collections, the extension of food and garden waste collections, and local service redesigns to align with Scotland’s Household Recycling Charter.

These projects are multi-faceted, often addressing multiple types of waste and recycling, but several have included elements that deliver improvements to food waste collections. These projects are set out below.

The Recycling Improvement Fund runs until 2026 and remains open for applications. All of the projects are being evaluated to understand their impact on increasing recycling and reducing waste, including food waste.

2.2 Sector Leadership

Our 2019 commitment

Everyone in Scotland is expected to play their part in tackling food waste and reaching our target. We will support leadership, innovation, effectiveness and efficiency in Scotland’s public, private and hospitality sectors by:

• Building skills, competency and knowledge on the management of food waste.
• Sharing expertise and best practice.
• Promoting consistent, transparent, and Scottish-specific reporting on food waste following the principles of ‘Target, Measure, Act’.
• Working with leaders, forums, and professional and stakeholder groups to offer support and advice on reducing waste throughout the food supply chain; also creating ‘champions’ for the cause of reducing food waste.

Our Progress

• 250 food waste audits for Scottish businesses.
• NQ5 Food Waste and Sustainability course developed and included for all Level 5 culinary arts students at City of Glasgow College from August 2022.
• Creating accessible food waste reduction materials for the Scottish Ethnic Minority Deaf Community and Isaro Community Initiative^[21].
• Glasgow City Council and Zero Waste Scotland running a schools food waste reduction pilot.
• Hospitality Zero Project: a 30% reduction in food waste by the majority of participants.
• Including food waste reduction objectives in the development of the national Good Food Nation Plan.

The FWRAP has contributed to wider Scottish Government policies relating to food. This includes the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 which provides an over-arching framework for clear, consistent and coherent future Scottish food policy. The Act places duties on Scottish Ministers, local authorities and health boards to produce Good Food Nation Plans and it means that any new food related policy will have to be considered not in isolation, but in the context of the national Good Food Nation Plan, working towards greater coherence across policy areas.

Engagement across sectors about food waste and FWRAP actions was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, progress has been made. The FWRAP has focused activity on driving transformative change in business practice throughout the food supply and value chain, and across all sectors.

Both the public and private sectors need to adapt practices to innovate and influence others to reduce food waste, increase efficiency, reduce costs, and make Scotland a world leader in sustainable consumption.

Zero Waste Scotland has worked with a wide range of organisations to conduct pilot programmes and key actions across several sectors. These include:

Business Sector

• 49 food waste audits for Scottish businesses were conducted between 2019 and March 2020 through the Food and Drink Advice and Support Service^[22]. This engagement identified 1,136 tonnes of food waste savings, potential carbon savings of 5,551 tonnes CO₂eq and cost savings of £304,495. Since 2020 and the impact of COVID-19, the focus of this work shifted from completing audits to focussing on large scale exemplar case studies which included working with large businesses to establish new training and tools to reduce food waste. Some of which are mentioned below.
• Regular engagement with the UK’s main retailers and food businesses was achieved through membership of WRAP’s Courtauld Commitment 2030. The Scottish Government’s ongoing support for WRAP has enabled it to produce world-leading research, such as on fresh produce, date labelling and plastic packaging.

WRAP’s recent report in reducing household waste and plastic packaging recommended food retailers and suppliers sell loose produce, remove date labels and provide best practice guidance on storage for consumers^[23]. Such research can have significant impact, with, for instance, some large retailers announcing they will remove best before dates from hundreds of fresh food products to reduce food waste^{24 25}.

Hospitality Sector

• 134 audits were conducted for hospitality and food service businesses, with an additional 25 food waste reduction implementation projects.
• Two partnership projects, Hospitality Zero & Food Waste Reduction Challenge, supported 20 businesses to measure and reduce their food waste with food waste reduction action plans written for those participants in the Hospitality Zero project. The importance of measuring food waste is highlighted through the food waste reduction challenge project “71% of participants achieved a 30% reduction in food waste by measuring alone.”
• Zero Waste Scotland, through its key sector engagement, has collaborated with a variety of stakeholders to deliver webinars (e.g., ‘Hospitality Secret Weapon Series’), panel discussions and events to promote food waste reduction support, tools, and interventions (e.g., One Month Challenge).

Key stakeholders include:

• Visit Scotland
• Highland Community Waste Partnership
• Various Chambers of Commerce
• Keep Scotland Beautiful
• Visit Aberdeenshire
• WRAP
• Greener Kirkcaldy
• Green Tourism
  • Zero Waste Scotland has engaged in a behaviour change pilot project with a large caterer operating in an international conference venue to develop and pilot-test appropriate interventions. The final report, due in 2024, will highlight the successes and challenges of the methodology and learnings shared with similar food service/events venues.
  • Supporting food waste reduction in the hospitality and food service sector is on-going. Key, influential businesses have been identified through the business support service framework to pilot waste reduction interventions providing not only waste reduction but best practice to share in the sector.
  • Raising awareness of food waste reduction within the hospitality and food service sector is key and achieved through campaigns such as ‘Grounds for Recycling’. This was a coffee themed hospitality and tourism campaign delivered during the, high profile, UCI Cycling World Championships. Over 140 Glasgow based food sector businesses (owners and key decision makers) were engaged with to highlight Zero Waste Scotland’s business support and online resources.

Public Sector

• Glasgow City Council and Zero Waste Scotland ran a schools food waste reduction pilot to encourage learners to consider the scale and impact of food waste within their schools. Engagement was challenging during COVID-19 with only 2 out of 5 schools providing the necessary data. This data was analysed, but the project required a larger sample size. Findings were shared with the University of Glasgow to complement a similarly scoped behaviour change project in Glasgow schools.
• More recently, a schools food waste pilot, in collaboration with Glasgow City Council, began in Autumn 2021. Schools are establishing a baseline for food being wasted in the dining hall at lunchtime, will deliver learner-led campaigns and interventions based on the insights, and evaluate their progress towards a co-created target.
• Supporting City of Glasgow College to develop an NQ5 Food Waste and Sustainability course, which is now included for all level 5 students as of August 2022. The unit has been taught to over 150 students to date. It is also being verified with SQA and the unit will be added to the group award for Level 5 professional cookery for 2023/24. It includes a practical element, e.g., using seasonal and unused produce through preserving and other methods. The unit can be used as a generic course available to all Scotland’s colleges; and it is also available globally through Canvas Commons Virtual Learning Environment.
• Collaborating with Developing the Young Workforce Dundee and Angus, The Food & Drink Federation Scotland, and Abertay University to develop a food waste project for secondary schools.
• Launching the Scottish Government Sustainable Procurement^[26] tools website in 2020. Food waste prevention support has been provided to procurement teams in Scotland Excel and NHS Scotland. Procurement guidance has also been developed at sub-national level, for example, the Glasgow City Food Plan^[27].
• Food for Thought programme – Partnership with Education Scotland to support the annual award of Food for Thought funding to the education sector in Scotland. The project enables engagement with over 150 schools annually to raise awareness of the impact of food waste with the education pack enabling teachers to then disseminate awareness with pupils.

Community Sector

• Adapting our ‘Love Food, Hate Waste’ training presentation for the Scottish Ethnic Minority Deaf Community (SEMDC), as well as food waste reduction videos and training sessions delivered in December 2019 and January 2020 to SEMDC members.
• Supporting Keep Scotland Beautiful’s National Lottery application to fund a ‘Highland Waste Collective’, which includes food waste awareness-raising and behaviour change intervention testing.
• Supporting the ISARO Community Initiative with the development of their food waste reduction cookbook, providing advice, expertise and PR support^[28].
• Repurposing the Good to Go ‘doggy bag’ scheme during COVID-19 to ensure food reached groups that can use it for social good. 40 organisations were supported, helping rural and urban charities and community groups alike to prepare and share the equivalent of 26,000 meals.
• In response to the cost-of-living crisis, Zero Waste Scotland supported communities with a further tranche of repurposing the Good to Go legacy stock, offering this stock to ease the burden of redistributing meals.

2.3 Public Engagement and Communications

Our 2019 commitment

We are asking Scotland’s people to make changes in their choices and behaviours around food and food waste. We will deliver a sustained programme of communications designed to: raise people’s awareness and understanding of the food waste problem; engage them in activities that address the problem and; create citizen advocates for food waste reduction.

Our Progress

• ‘Food Gone Bad’ and ‘Save Food. Save Money. Save The Earth.’ campaigns delivered in 2019 and 2022, encouraged Scottish households to reduce and recycle their food waste.
• Zero Waste Scotland Down the Drain campaign drew attention to the overlooked area of drink waste.
• Zero Waste Scotland and Rankin COP26 campaign highlighted food waste’s impact on climate change to a global audience.
• 245 ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ training workshops delivered, with 92% of attendees sharing learnings with others, driving behaviour change on food waste.
• Launched household behaviour change project with Fife Council, The London School of Economics and King’s College London to identify effective food waste reduction interventions at household level.

Prevention is the highest priority in the fight against food waste and the focus of the Love Food Hate Waste Scotland consumer focused programme since its launch in 2009. Many of the most successful campaigns have focused on key periods of food waste like Christmas, Halloween, and Burns Night. The campaigns provide practical advice, educating and inspiring consumers with recipe ideas, shopping tips and storage guidance.

In addition, the Scottish Government, Zero Waste Scotland and Food Standards Scotland have delivered a number of awareness-raising campaigns, designed to encourage positive food waste reduction behaviours across Scottish households and businesses. These include:

• The Scottish Government and Zero Waste Scotland’s ‘Food Gone Bad’^[29] campaign launched alongside the FWRAP in 2019, with a follow-up, ‘Save Food. Save Money. Save the Earth’^[30] campaign in February 2022. This encouraged more Scottish households to proactively reduce their food waste, with an online food waste reduction toolkit providing support; or to recycle the food waste they cannot prevent, with tips on how to make this as simple as possible for households.

• The Zero Waste Scotland Down the Drain campaign^[32] 2022, which tackled the topic of drink waste. 11% of food waste is actually drink. This campaign aimed to raise awareness of drink waste and urged everyone to drink responsibly in every sense of the word. The campaign generated 4.1 million online views.
• The 2023 Zero Waste Scotland CAN-paign campaign^[33] was designed to aid households during the cost-of-living crisis by educating consumers and businesses on how to manage their food effectively, save money and reduce waste. This was achieved by a six-month ambassador led (Chef Julie Lin) campaign which sought to encourage the use of tinned food. The campaign featured considerable out-of-home marketing with a roadshow across Scotland appearing at several city centres, community fridges and music festivals. The campaign generated 8.6 million online views and post campaign evaluation has shown 55,000 more people in Scotland now make up most of their weekly shop with tinned food and view it as a safer bet for the environment – based on consumption of food and recycling the tin.

• 245 ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ cascade training workshops were delivered to 2952 attendees between the publication of the 2019 FWRAP and January 2023. This training delivered free, interactive workshops to organisations to inspire and encourage behaviour change in individuals to reduce food waste at home. 98% of attendees were likely to recommend the workshop to colleagues, friends and family and 92% said they shared what they learnt with others, suggesting the workshops may be influencing the behaviour of more than just those who attended.
• Between January and March 2023, Zero Waste Scotland piloted a new approach to the Love Food Hate Waste cascade training. 8 pilot workshops were completed with businesses and community groups to get feedback on the content and format of the workshops as well as road test our evaluation method to better measure the impact of the workshops and assess the spread of knowledge. A total of 75 attendees were offered different engagement strategies and levels of support depending on their skills and experience. A Love Food Hate Waste Digital Training Resource is being commissioned which will be hosted on the Zero Waste Scotland website.
• Food Standards Scotland also made available an online resource called ‘Eat Well Your Way’^[34]. This resource is aimed at individuals to help improve their awareness on how to plan meals and choose healthier options, which can also play a role in reducing food waste.

2.4 Supporting delivery of a new approach to food waste

Our 2019 commitment

Driving effective change throughout the food supply chain needs a coordinated approach. Through a new Food Waste Hub, we will:

• Connect businesses seeking to reduce food waste with the funding, support and innovations that they need.
• Identify the skills that Scotland needs if we are to develop new ways of reducing food waste and optimising our use of bio-resources.
• Promote research and innovation in emerging bio-technologies and other solutions that will tackle food waste.

Our Progress

• 1,000 tonnes of food redistributed with £200,000 of support for FareShare’s ‘Surplus with Purpose’ scheme in 2021/22.
• 856 tonnes of food redistributed with £150,000 of support in 2022/23.
• Food Redistribution Matchmaking Service launched in 2020.
• Mapping of food redistribution sector for Scotland completed.
• Two food redistribution research projects completed: bread and bakery surplus; and international best practice for food surplus redistribution.

In accordance with the waste hierarchy, the reuse of food waste resources is far more desirable and sustainable than its disposal. Therefore, all prevention and redistributions options must be exhausted.

Surplus Food Redistribution

Preventing edible food becoming wasted has an important part to play in our fight against climate change. This has proved particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic, with large amounts of food surplus entering the supply chain due to restaurant and hospitality closures through 2020 and 2021.

The Scottish Government supported food redistribution in Scotland, with funding of £200,000 to FareShare’s ‘Surplus with Purpose’ programme in 2021/22 and £150,000 in 2022/23.

The ‘Surplus with Purpose’ programme works with farmers, growers and manufacturers to cover the additional costs involved with getting their unsold good-to-eat food onto people’s plates^[35]. In 2021/22, 1,001 tonnes of good-to-eat surplus food was redistributed from Scottish growers to community food groups (the equivalent of 2.3 million meals), and in 2022/23, 856 tonnes were redistributed, equivalent to just over 2 million meals.

In 2021/22, all the surplus food redistributed under the scheme was fresh produce, specifically potatoes and carrots. In 2022/23, 93% of the surplus food distributed was fresh fruit and vegetables; the remaining 7% was protein. Had these not been redistributed, they would have gone to animal feed or been ploughed back into the field. Scottish potato company Albert Bartlett reported that this funding had helped them redistribute the equivalent of 5 million meals^[36].

It is important to note that redistribution of food only reduces food waste if the surplus comes from a part of the supply chain that classifies it as food waste so that it contributes towards the 33% target.

The food redistributed through the ‘Surplus with Purpose’ scheme does not directly contribute to the target as the surplus came from primary producers. Redistribution is the highest level of the food waste hierarchy, so even if the surplus would not normally contribute to the target, ensuring it reaches people and communities is the best possible outcome other than preventing it occurring in the first place.

In response to the redistribution of food that continues to take place across Scotland and through community groups, Zero Waste Scotland launched its Food Redistribution Matchmaking Service in July 2020^[37]. This service looked to support the redistribution network and partner redistribution organisations with businesses who have surplus edible food that can be utilised by community food organisations. Stakeholder engagement to promote the service and redistribution continues. Zero Waste Scotland’s redistribution guidance was also reviewed and updated in spring 2021, with support from Food Standards Scotland^[38].

WRAP’s Courtauld 2030 commitment on food waste reduction provides another forum through which to engage business on the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap, particularly through the Courtauld Redistribution Working Group and promotion of its outputs such as the ‘Beyond Best Before’ redistribution date label guidance^[39]. A training workshop on this guidance was delivered to the Perth Food Network in February 2021.

During 2020 Zero Waste Scotland also investigated the redistribution landscape in Scotland to identify the key barriers and opportunities facing businesses and communities regarding redistribution of surplus food. Following this, a study into bread and bakery surplus was carried out, due to it consistently being pointed out as a key challenge for community redistribution organisations. During November 2021 Zero Waste Scotland conducted an international best practice review to inform what levers and support could be introduced based on learnings in other countries. Findings from these projects will be used to inform our future approach to food redistribution.

Takeaway food boxes and reusable bags normally distributed as part of Zero Waste Scotland’s Good to Go ‘doggy bag’ programme were repurposed and sent to community groups that prepare and share food for social good. As of September 2023, 180,750 food boxes and 209,750 reusable bags have been delivered to 260 organisations across Scotland. Monitoring with the recipients and evaluation of the impact produced are both still ongoing and a full report on the findings and recommendations is expected by January 2024.

In addition, the Community Fridges Pilot Fund was set up with the aim of providing additional support to food redistribution organisations to understand the role of fridges in preventing food waste. The aim was to provide additional capacity to redistribution organisations in Scotland to receive, store and redistribute perishable or short-shelf-life foods: 23 grant applications were received, and 17 grants were awarded either fully or partially with a total value of £40,290.16. It is estimated that the additional cold storage capacity provided during the pilot will prevent 45.6 tonnes/month of food waste, resulting in 170 tonnes/month CO₂e in emissions saving.

During 2023/24 Zero Waste Scotland is continuing engagement with national and local redistribution networks and agencies to build strategic partnerships. To date Zero Waste Scotland has engaged with FareShare Scotland, Hubbub Community Fridges Network, IFAN, The Trussell Trust, Scottish Pantries Network, WRAP, Courtauld 2030, Food Standards Scotland, Circular Communities Scotland, Education Scotland, and Early Years Scotland.