Tackling food waste
EFA Press Release from Jill Evans MEP (Wales)
Plaid Cymru MEP Jill Evans has welcomed a vote in the European Parliament in favour of binding food waste reduction targets.
MEPs are calling for an EU waste reduction target of 30% by 2025 and 50% by 2030 compared to the 2014 baseline.
Plaid Cymru has previously called for large food retailers and manufacturers to take steps to reduce their food waste, including donating surplus food to charities for distribution, as a means of reducing food waste.
Welsh households are also playing their part. Whilst household food waste levels in Wales are lower than in other parts of the UK, in 2015 Welsh households threw away an estimated 300,000 tonnes of food, representing some £550m of avoidable household food waste.
Plaid MEP Jill Evans said:
"Sending food waste to landfill sites is bad for our environment and if we can avoid it we must. Plaid Cymru has already called for large retailers to help reduce food waste by donating surplus food to charities.
"We've seen great progress in Wales with food waste recycling in every local authority.
"But we still throw away about 9kg of food waste per person per year.
"By implementing binding long term targets, even after we leave the EU, we can put pressure on the Welsh government to continue taking the necessary action that will eventually eliminate unnecessary food waste.
"That will be a win-win for consumers and the environment."
