Food and drink manufacturers have reduced the waste they send to landfill by two thirds, according to the latest survey from the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).
Published by the FDF and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the report states that just 3% of the industry’s waste went to landfill in 2012.
When the survey was last conducted, in 2009, the figure was 9%, so the new figures demonstrate a reduction of 250,000 tonnes.
The result seems to a significant milestone in the FDF’s stated aim of achieving zero waste to landfill by 2015. The FDF says most of its members have already achieved that target.
Progress was attributed to successful efforts to redistribute waste to other areas, such as animal feed. Around 28% of waste was dealt with via recycling in 2012. And the equivalent figure for used packaging was 96%.
A report based on the survey illustrates consistent progress in processors’ food waste reduction efforts since 2006, when 16.5% of of waste went to landfill
