A Defra-funded report has shown that food and drink manufacturers have recovered or recycled 82% of the waste produced at their sites in 2006. However, Defra is calling for the industry to segregate more waste at source to further decrease the amount still being sent to landfill.
The report, published jointly by Defra and the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), indicated that only 138,000 tonnes of the 835,000 tonnes of food and packaging waste produced at the 236 FDF-run sites was sent to landfill. It was also shown that utilising by-products created during the processing of raw materials prevented 511,921 tonnes of waste from being produced.
Praising the work of the FDF’s members, its director of sustainability and competitiveness, Callton Young, said: “The results of this survey demonstrate the level of ongoing commitment by FDF members to making a significant contribution to improving the environment, by targeting areas where they can make the biggest difference.
“Our members’ initiatives are preventing significant amounts of waste at their sites and it is fantastic that the vast majority of waste that does arise is already treated in an environmentally friendly way,” he added.
The study also revealed that while mixed food and packaging waste produced just 134,819 tonnes of the total waste produced by the sector, 109,686 tonnes of that was sent to landfill.
This was also compared to unmixed food waste, of which only 17,569 tonnes out of 604,883 tonnes was sent to landfill.
As a result of these figures, the report’s authors, consultants Oakdene Hollins, have called for better solutions regarding the separation of food and packaging waste, stating that the study “suggests that a future priority area should be segregation of such waste, preferably at source, in order to save valuable resources.”
“It is also important to ensure awareness of opportunities to recover mixed waste via anaerobic digestion, advanced composting facilities or thermal treatment, and to encourage treatment providers to offer facilities in the areas with the greatest potential feedstock,” they added.
For more information, visit: defra.gov.uk
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