Tag Archives: UK

Packaging Pros and Cons

I’ve been thinking a lot about packaging recently, as I’ve been writing something about Austin’s mostly packaging-free grocer, in.gredients. From a life-cycle assessment perspective, packaging is environmentally harmful. It’s just more stuff we’re using oil to create, often unnecessarily, that usually ends up in a landfill. Yet, it’s not that simple.  Smarter packaging could limit […]

May 16, 2013 | Posted in Waste Stream | Comments closed

Politicizing Waste Reduction Advice?

Well that’s unfortunate. British politicians and/or the British media have politicized advice on reducing food waste. The Independent reported Environment Minister Richard Benyon’s remarks about families losing £50 per month through waste and follows it with objections from the opposition. As an American, I’m not aware of all the subtle class machinations and tax policy at […]

April 29, 2013 | Posted in Household, International, Leftovers | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

The NRDC’s Switchboard blog provides a thought-provoking view on the latest thinking from British businesses on how to reduce food waste. And it all starts with a different mindset: that reducing food waste can yield increased revenue. — — On the topic of helping with the bottom line, free food waste reduction seminars would certainly […]

April 5, 2013 | Posted in College, Friday Buffet, International | Comments closed

Half Wasted: Headline Review

In reporting yesterday’s big news that 30 to 50% of global food isn’t eaten, many headline writers focused on the higher figure. Here’s a quick roundup to see how various media organizations approached that age-old battle: attention vs. accuracy Misleading Huffington Post UK Los Angeles Times Australian Broadcasting Company The Globe and Mail Daily Mail […]

January 11, 2013 | Posted in International, Stats | Comments closed

Wasting No Time Analyzing New Waste Study

The Institute of Mechanical Engineers just released a major study on global food waste. It’s always exciting to see further research on food waste come to light and Global Food: Waste Not, Want Not is no exception. Its major finding is that 30 to 50% of the world’s food never reaches human stomachs. The lower figure isn’t […]

January 10, 2013 | Posted in International, Stats | Comments closed

Leftover Love from High Above

The UK Environment Secretary is a cabinet member and holds duties similar to the US Secretary of Agriculture and the head of the EPA. So when Environment Secretary Owen Paterson talks about the need to use our leftovers, my ears perk up. In a speech launching a sustainable food initiative with the Women’s Institute, Paterson […]

December 10, 2012 | Posted in International, Leftovers | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Food is too cheap, according to the head of Unilever, which prompts much waste in the developed world. Yes, but…there are still so many who don’t get enough to eat. Meanwhile, in that same article, we learn that Londoners waste half the food they buy. — — Not to be outdone, the entire country of […]

November 9, 2012 | Posted in College, International, Supermarket | Comments closed

Use That Food!

Here’s a neat one: UseTheFood is a free site that helps you find recipes to…use the food. Your food, that is. As of today, the startup goes from private beta to public beta. In other words, you can search the listings. I haven’t looked through it much, but I like the a feature that allows you […]

August 20, 2012 | Posted in Household, Personal | Comments closed

Flash Freezing

Let me get this straight–before last week, all perishable food bought in the UK carried the advice to ‘freeze food on day of purchase?!’ Seriously? Happily, that is no longer the case at the major British chain Sainsbury’s, as they’ve backed off that uber-cautious advice. With the backing of the waste-reduction crew at WRAP, Sainsbury’s labels […]

February 15, 2012 | Posted in International, Supermarket | Comments closed

Sainsbury’s Savvy Moves

Sainsbury’s keeps upping the stakes on how a supermarket can do the right thing regarding food waste. The British retailer commissioned research on how purchased food isn’t eaten and found that the average household tosses 10% of what they buy. And that comes at a cost–of about £50 per month. Sainsbury’s also worked w/ quasi-governmental […]

November 9, 2011 | Posted in International, Supermarket | Comments closed