Food campaigners cut £300m waste

OLDHAMERS have played their part in saving £300 million of food going to waste.

A nation-wide campaign has encouraged almost two million more households to save money by cutting back on throwing food away.

The Love Food Hate Waste campaign was launched in 2007 and has so far helped to prevent 137,000 tonnes of food being wasted.

This prevents 600,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases being emitted, which is the same carbon impact as taking 100,000 return flights to Australia out of the skies.

Councillor Neil Swannick, chairman of Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority, said: “We recognise that the results of the first year are encouraging, but there is much more that we, in Greater Manchester, can do and we are confident we can continue to support the growing number of households cutting back this waste.”

The campaign has been promoting practical advice and tips to help people make the most of the food they are buying and waste less of it.

Advice includes planning meals better, using up food already in the fridge, measuring portion sizes and becoming freezer-savvy.

For practical advice on how to reduce food waste, log on to www.lovefoodhatewaste.com