Surrey serves notice on food waste

3 December 2007

Surrey serves notice on food waste

Residents across Surrey were greeted with an unusual sight this week, as a silver service waiter carried a salver loaded with food through iconic locations across the county to show them what they are wasting.

The food on the salver represents the amount of food that is thrown away uneaten by the average Surrey household every week - 6kg. The waiter is highlighting the "There are 3Rs in Surrey: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" campaign in a bid to raise the issue of food waste in the county.

Peter Martin, Surrey County Council Executive Member for the Environment said:

"We wanted to illustrate in a very simple way, just how much food is wasted every week in Surrey. This not only costs money, but puts pressure on our waste services. In the festive period we are likely to waste even more food as we stock up with provisions ready for a season of feasting and entertaining. While it's important to enjoy and celebrate at this time of year, it's also really easy to do a few simple things to reduce the amount of food we throw away.

"We're also launching a free text service for residents to get regular reminders on how we can cut down the amount of food we throw away. Simple things like writing a shopping list or buying items with long use-by dates can really help and the new text service will remind us all to do that."

To sign up for free tips on how to reduce, reuse and recycle waste direct to your phone, residents can text REDUCE to 83010.

There is also more information on www.surreywaste.info including making your food last longer and giving leftovers a second chance.

In total, the average Surrey household throws away 26kg of food a month which adds up to a staggering 312kg per household per year - the equivalent of nearly 8000 tubes of Smarties. Figures from WRAP (the Government's Waste and Resources Action Programme) show that an average household throws away a third of all the food they purchase uneaten each year - as much as £400 worth per household.

Ends

For more information please visit www.surreywaste.info

For more information on the 3Rs please contact:

Arthur Browne

Account Manager

3 Monkeys Communications

Tel: 020 7440 2418

Mob: 07906 488 614

Switchboard: 020 7440 2410

Receiving text messages is free. The sign up text message will be charged at the standard network operator rate. The service can be stopped at any time by texting STOP to 83010.

There are 3Rs in Surrey: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is a six month campaign from Surrey County Council and the eleven district and borough councils and is designed to raise awareness among residents of the need to reduce the amount of waste they create, reuse wherever possible and recycle as much as they can of what's left.