Food waste have returned to pre-pandemic levels in Britain

Food waste and waste in British households have returned to pre-pandemic levels after the restrictions were lifted. This was shown this week by a report from WRAP, a charity that promotes environmental sustainability and recycling. After reopening the economy, families gave up habits that helped them manage food more efficiently and bought more food away from home again. According to the latest WRAP survey, up to three out of 10 British citizens, or 30 per cent, can be classified as "people who waste food". This is an increase of 20 percent in April 2020. This increase coincides with the lifting of pandemic restrictions in the United Kingdom. This is a reversal of last year's trend, with positive behaviors such as planning, cooking and freezing portions leading to a 43 percent drop in food waste. Now these "good habits" are at stake, as people again face time pressures and replace home-prepared meals with ready-made ones to buy and take with them. "Returning to a hectic lifestyle means getting back on track," said Sarah Clayton, head of behavior change research at WRAP. "Following the shocking report of the IPCC (United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) this month, we need to realize that food waste is a source of climate change and most food waste comes from households," Clayton added. The IPCC report in early August suggests that the average global temperature may rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030, 10 years earlier than previously predicted. According to experts, data show that warming has accelerated even more in recent years. It concludes that global warming is already accelerating sea level rise, melting glaciers and exacerbating weather extremes such as heat waves, droughts, floods and storms. Tropical cyclones are increasingly stronger, according to the IPCC report, while Arctic sea ice and permafrost are melting. All these trends will worsen in the coming years.