Panic Buying Increases Food Waste in the UK
During the current crisis, environmental impact is unlikely to be the first thought in some consumers’ minds, but the panic buying seen as the coronavirus pandemic hit the UK has already had a huge impact on food waste, according to packaging experts, We Seal. Bread is the second most wasted food item in the UK and bakeries increase production to meet current demand.
Shoppers rushing to stockpile household essentials has meant a significant increase in the amount of fresh food thrown away as consumers over-buy, with bread one of the main items going to waste.
WRAP estimates that in the UK alone, food waste has a value of GBP19bn per year and is associated with more than 25 million tones of greenhouse gas emissions.
Richard Hobson, chief executive at We Seal, which makes the bread bag seals for 95% of the nation’s branded and supermarket loaves, explains: “Food waste is a vastly overlooked driver of environmental damage and climate change and is something that we work hard to reduce through our innovative sealing solutions.
“Due to increased demand for loaves in the current panic-buying climate, bakeries are increasing production by 20 – 30% or more. In times of crisis, consumers tend to simplify what they eat, so it makes sense that bread is at the top of the list of food products people are stockpiling. But, when bread is already wasted at an alarming rate, these figures make for worrying reading. At the other end of the spectrum, we’re already hearing anecdotally from colleagues in the waste industry that they’re seeing food waste at higher levels than the usual Christmas peak. This is particularly concerning at a time when people should be being more careful about what they eat and throw away, given the government’s guidelines on infrequent shopping during lockdown. The nation is in crisis mode but we can’t forget the long-term impact of our decisions on the environment,” Hobson stated.
Recent recycling research conducted by We Seal, as part of its re-brand from Select Bag Sealers, revealed that nearly half of Brits (49%) would prefer bread to come in a paper bag, rather than the familiar low density polyethylene bags, which, according to We Seal, would exacerbate the issue of food waste even further.
Richard Hobson continued: “According to WRAP, bread is the second most wasted food item in the UK. 900,000 tones go to waste every year, that’s 24 million slices of bread every day. Almost half of the bread produced in the UK (44%) is wasted, so we need to be looking at ways to improve these figures. Whilst consumers instinctively feel like paper bags would be more environmentally friendly, in reality, that’s simply not the case. There are a number of reasons why paper has a larger impact on the planet than the recyclable plastic currently used in bread bags, but one key driver is that paper is porous, which means the bread goes staler faster than plastic, ultimately leading to more waste. The small, plastic seals created by We Seal to secure the loaf of bread are resealable, ensuring that the loaf stays fresher for longer, helping to reduce the issue of food waste.”
Only 20% of Brits recycle plastic bread bags, according to We Seal’s research. Nearly half (46%) believe that they aren’t recyclable and another third (30% don’t know if they are or not. According to the research, 30% of consumers have changed their buying habits because they are worried about plastic packaging. A very worried 4% of Brits have even stopped buying bread, purely because they are worried about the perceived environmental impact of the packaging.