1. 13 June 2015
W
e can’t live without
it, yet every year
millions of Scots
manage to waste
tonnes of it.
Food and drink are, of course, vital
for our very existence. But whether
it’s down to lack of planning, buying
more than we need or not having
the stomach for mealtime leftovers,
every year Scottish households allow
630,000 tonnes of precious food and
drink to go to waste.
Around half is ditched without any
attempt being made to eat it.
It tots up to a massive £1bn
annual food waste bill for the nation
– that’s £470 a year for the average
household – and makes up a third of
all household waste in Scotland.
Not only that, food dumped in
landfill means the energy used to
produce it and transport it has gone
to waste too, while the methane gas
it produces harms the environment.
To help stop the rot, a major new
Scottish Government campaign is
underway, aimed at encouraging
us all to rethink what we use, how
we use it and what we throw away –
including tonnes of food and drink.
A series of videos fronted by comic
Phil Kay point out how ‘Stupidly
Simple’ it is to make tiny changes,
such as shopping smarter and using
what we can, which together can
make a big impact towards reaching
Scotland’s ambitious greenhouse
gas targets.
So what small steps can we make
to help stop the food rot?
According to Iain Gulland, chief
executive of Zero Waste Scotland,
prevention is far better than trying
to find a cure for dealing with tonnes
of rotting food.
“Wasting food is money down the
drain for Scotland’s householders
and businesses, and sending it to
landfill is bad for the environment,”
he says.
“Preventing food waste, which
we promote through the Love Food
Hate Waste campaign, is the best
option – for household budgets, and
the environment.”
A fifth of all food we buy is wasted:
It’stimeto
stoptherot
vegetables, milk, home-made
meals, fizzy drinks, fruit juices and
smoothies, poultry, pork and cakes,
top the list.
Every day we throw away around
5.8m potatoes, 2.5m slices of bread,
300,000 slices of cheese and 1.9m
slices of ham.
According to Zero Waste Scotland
the waste could be prevented by
shopping smarter, sticking to a
shopping list, planning our meals to
avoid temptation in the supermarket
aisles, freezing what we don’t use
and using up our leftovers.
Adds Mr Gullard: “We’re
seeing great strides in food waste
prevention through the Love
Food Hate Waste campaign and
in household food waste recycling
through council collections
(now available to over 1.3m
households).
“Businesses are also tackling this
problem. With all sectors pulling
together in Scotland, we can cut the
amount of food needlessly sent to
landfill.”
Food waste that can’t be
consumed, such as banana skins,
egg shells and bones, still has a use,
either on the compost heap at home
or in the food waste bin to become
liquid fertiliser.
Eventually Edinburgh and
Midlothian food waste will go to
a new anaerobic digestion facility
near Forth Kinnaird in Edinburgh,
Tonnes of food is thrown away each year because we
don’t plan or shop properly, costing us and the environment.
But all is not lost, as help is at hand, reports Sandra Dick
Make Scotland
Greener
Tips of the week
Putleftoverteabagsincold
watertomakeacleaning
solutionformirrors
Blitzleftoverbreadinto
breadcrumbsorcutinto
croutons
Convertpotatopeelingsinto
oven-cookedcrisps
Make Scotland Greener is
a partnership between The
Scotsman and the Scottish
Government which provides
practical ways for families to be
more environmentally friendly
52
capable of converting 30,000
tonnes of food waste per year into
electricity.
While householders can do their
bit, organisations like UK-wide
FareShare and the Edinburgh
Cyrenians Trust have food waste
programmes aimed at redistributing
tonnes of excess food and drink to
those in need.
The Cyrenians’ Good Food
programme takes surplus quality
food from producers and retailers
and gives it to 60 agencies who work
with homeless and socially excluded
people. The project prevents nine
tonnes of food going to landfill every
week.
The charity also runs food
education sessions which provide
advice on menu planning, food
budgeting and turning leftovers into
new meals.
But preventing waste is just
one element of the war on waste.
Another is the distance food travels
from farm to plate – in some cases,
half way around the world.
Websites like eattheseasons.co.uk
point out that by eating seasonally
and checking our food’s origins we
can not only help the environment
but support local producers.
And we could always grow our
own. The Federation of City Farms
and Gardens (www.farmgarden.
org.uk) puts would-be gardeners
in touch with 46 community
gardens around Scotland, while
Edinburgh Garden Partners (www.
edinburghgardenpartners.org.uk)
matches people who want to grow
fruit and vegetables with others
who have gardens but can’t cope
with the work involved in keeping
them.
www.zerowastescotland.org.uk;
www.scotland.lovefoodhatewaste.
com

2. 13 June 2015
Inspiredbygreen
cityFreiburg
We throw away
more than £1bn
worth of food
and drink every
year – that works
out at £470 per
household
£470
If we all stopped
wasting good
food and drink
we would save
1.7million tonnes
of greenhouse
gases
1.7million
There’s really a limit to what I can do
though as the council won’t let you
change the windows,” he adds.
“I admit I’m probably guilty
of overfilling the kettle when I’m
making a cup of tea. And I have
been known to leave the lights on in
rooms I’m not in.”
Zak takes his 2.3 diesel Lexus
on short journeys from home to
warehouses and producers to buy
goods for the business. However
he’s hopeful that his regular bike
ride to work balances up the impact.
“When I bought my car I did
make a point of checking the CO2
emissions.
“That’s something else they are
huge on in Germany, people pay
extra for a car that they feel doesn’t
have such a negative effect on the
environment.”
Zak gathers together his old
clothes and unwanted furnishings
and hands them in to one of
Stockbridge’s many charity shops.
But while they are often bursting
with high quality and even designer
items, he doesn’t pause to buy.
“If I need new chairs or a table,
I’d go to Ikea or John Lewis, I don’t
think I’d buy something from a
charity shop. If something needs
fixed, I’d probably just throw it away
and replace it rather than trying to
repair it.”
He is willing, though, to make
even more changes. “I’m quite
motivated,” he adds.
“I think you get out of life what
you put into it. It’s the same with
the environment, if you put a lot of
rubbish in, you’ll only get rubbish
back.”
Z
ak Hanif, 46, lives in a two
bedroom rented flat in the
Colonies, Stockbridge. He
is co-owner of Anfora Wine Bar in
Giles Street, Edinburgh.
With a new restaurant business
to look after and his own home to
run, Zak has to make more effort
than most when it comes to hitting
‘green’ targets.
Indeed, juggling food waste,
recycling commitments and
keeping an eye on energy use both
at home and at work, he concedes,
can be a struggle: “It’s one thing to
watch the food waste in your own
home, another to stay on top of
what’s happening in the restaurant
kitchen.”
But having seen how seamlessly
one city has managed to encourage
its citizens to embrace a much more
environmentally aware lifestyle, Zak
has been inspired to do his bit – and
more.
“I used to go out with a German
girl who lived in Freiburg, which was
meant to be the greenest city in the
world.
“She had all these bins under the
kitchen sink for bottles, plastic and
waste. It took a while for me to get
used to, but for people there it was
already a way of life.
“It was a bit of a culture shock
because at that time every bit of
waste here just went in the one bin.
“But I got used to the way they
worked and saw how much more
sensible it was.”
That inspired him to keep a close
watch on what he does at work and
at his home in Edinburgh.
“At home I try to buy what I need
but of course there’s some food
waste.
“And admittedly there’s been a bit
of waste at the business that’s ended
up in the bin. That’s because we’re
still new and finding our way.
“I suppose I could find a charity to
take it and distribute it, but I don’t
always know what will be left and
you’ve got to be careful with food.”
His two bedroom flat is cosy
thanks to heat rising from the home
below which keeps his monthly gas
and electricity bill at a manageable
£60. But council rules on his sash
windows means there’s little he
can do to change them even if his
landlord agreed.
“I know I lose some heat because
of my sash windows. I watch the
pounds flying through the windows.
I got used to
howitworked
in Freiburg
and saw
howsensible
it was
Case study Weekthree
Laura McGadie (inset) is Head of Home Energy
Scotland at Energy Saving Trust.
“Mr Hanif knows that he is losing heat through his
windows.
“While he doesn’t own his home and there are
window restrictions in place, he could make sure his
windows are draught proofed. Draught proofing
windows and doors is a relatively low-
cost measure which could save up
to £35 a year.
“Draught-free homes
are comfortable at lower
temperatures – so he would be
able to turn down his thermostat
saving another 10 per cent off his
heating bill.
“We recently developed a video of DIY
draughtproofing, which can be viewed on You Tube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOuCzuL2qeU
“He could develop a list of new energy efficient
behaviours to adopt, such as only filling the kettle
with as much water as needed – that could save
around £7 in energy bills a year.
“Turning off lights when they are not needed could
save around £15 on annual energy bills.”
Home Energy Scotland has advisors and specialists
who offer free, expert and impartial advice about
energy savings and the support and funding
available. Call 0808 808 2282 or visit
www.homeenergyscotland.org
Ylva Haglund (inset) is an expert in consumer
behaviour, marketing and environmental policy
with Zero Waste Scotland.
“It sounds like Zak is really clued up on food waste
at home and at work – remember to keep putting
unavoidable food waste, like peelings or bones, in the
food waste caddy.
“If he serves food regularly, Zak could also consider
signing up for our Good to Go Doggy Bag scheme.
“Restaurants which took part in our Good to Go
trial saw dramatic reductions in food waste – an
average of 42 per cent per restaurant.
And 92 per cent of diners surveyed
who took food home ate it.
“If restaurants across Scotland
routinely offered doggy bags
to customers, it could save the
equivalent of 800,000 full meals
going in the bin every year.
“As there are so many second-hand and re-use
shops in Stockbridge, Zak should try browsing there
– he might find something unique and good quality
that he wouldn’t get on the high street. Whether it’s
furniture, clothing or goods, remember to look for the
Revolve sign of accreditation.
“I’d also always recommend taking unwanted
items to the charity shop in the first instance – it takes
minimal energy to re-use something, compared to
recycling it.
“Also, fixing something can be very rewarding
and there are a number of organisations now that
will help teach you how to do repairs, such as the
Edinburgh Bike Station for your bicycle, or Remade in
Edinburgh.
Zero Waste Scotland’s work includes promoting
recycling, re-use and repair, and helping people
to live greener lives by cutting food waste. Visit
www.zerowastescotland.org.uk
Make Scotland Greener
Experts’ view Week three
The Scottish Government has
produced a series of short films
aimed at encouraging us all to
rethink our habits. Go to www.
scotsman.com to watch the videos
and for ideas, tips and advice
53