Council Urges Residents to Buy Loose Fruit & Veg to Save Food from the Bin

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council is delighted to support Love Food Hate Waste’s Food Waste Action Week, running from 17 - 23 March 2025.

Food Waste Action Week is the flagship annual event delivered by WRAP’s Love Food Hate Waste. The campaign helps households develop the tools they need to cut food waste at home.  This year, Food Waste Action Week will continue to focus on raising awareness of the benefits of buying loose fruit and veg.

With food waste costing on average £1,000 for a household of four every year, Food Waste Action Week will help shoppers to save money and waste less food by shopping for loose produce.

WRAP’s research has identified the potential to reduce household food waste by removing the packaging on uncut fresh fruit and veg, enabling us to buy closer to our needs as well as the ‘bonus’ benefit of eliminating a significant amount of unnecessary packaging.

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Pete Byrne said, “We are proud to be supporting Food Waste Action Week again this year. Many people are struggling with increasing food prices and the cost of living. The Food Waste Action campaign looks at buying only what we need and changing our shopping habits by opting for loose produce in shops and supermarkets. Not only is this good for our pockets but also good for the environment. It helps to reduce the amount of food and plastic packaging being sent to waste.”

WRAP recently called for a packaging ban on 21 fruit and veg items, to be developed via a formal consultation process. This recommendation has been created in consultation with industry stakeholders from across the supply chain. Selling these 21 items loose has the potential to save in the region of 100,000 tonnes of edible fruit and vegetables from being wasted annually in people's homes as well as saving 13,000 tonnes of plastic film.

WRAP has identified that, to drive action across the whole UK food system and help overcome the challenges faced by industry, policy change would create a level playing field and unlock action that is essential to enabling people to choose what they’ll use and buy more uncut fruit and veg loose.

Jackie Bailey, Senior Campaign Manager Love Food Hate Waste, said, “We know buying loose fruit and veg has the potential to significantly cut the amount of food ending up in the bin – now is the time for retailers and shoppers to make that a reality. Increasing loose fruit and veg offerings in store will not only reduce hard to recycle plastics, it will also enable shoppers to buy closer to their needs, slashing waste and stopping tens of thousands of tonnes of CO2 emissions.”

For more information please visit: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/fwaw