Happy new year!!!! Builderscrap.com like this particularly apt post. Respondents were asked how much uneaten food they generally ended up throwing away, how much it bothered them, and how much effort they put into avoiding food waste. The questions used for the survey were taken from research carried out by WRAP (the Waste and Reduction Action Programme) to identify those who are committed to avoiding food waste. Respondents were shown a list of the different types of food that could be wasted (such as food left on a plate and fruit, vegetables or salad) to encourage people to think about this issue. The results from these questions are summarised in Table 24.

In total around half (49%) of respondents said they threw away no uneaten food (8%) or very minimal amounts of food (41%). One third (33%) said they threw away a “small amount” with slightly fewer than one fifth reporting they either threw away “some” (12%) or “quite a lot” or “a reasonable amount” (5% combined).

Throwing away uneaten food did bother the majority (61%) of respondents either “a fair amount” (29%) or “a great deal” (32%). A fifth (20%) reported that they were either bothered by it “not very much” (13%) or “not at all” (8%). The amount respondents said they were bothered by throwing away uneaten food was linked to the amount they generally ended up throwing away (this link is summarised in Table 25). Specifically, respondents who said this bothered them a “great deal” or a “fair amount” were more likely to throw away either “hardly any” or no uneaten food (53%) than those who said they were bothered only “a little”, “not very much” or “not at all” (41%).

More than three quarters (77%) of respondents claimed that they and their household went to “a great deal” (38%) or “a fair amount” (39%) of effort to minimise the amount of uneaten food that was disposed of, with just 2% saying that they made no effort at all. As expected, the amount of effort the respondent and their household went to was linked to the amount of uneaten food the respondent ended up throwing away (again this link is summarised in Table 25). Respondents who reported that they and their household went to a “great deal” or “a fair amount” of effort were more likely to throw away either “hardly any” or no uneaten food (54%) than those who reported that they and their household made only “a little” effort, “not very much” or “none at all” (32%).