// Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose have pledged to halve food waste by 2030
// The grocers will join 300 other businesses & individuals to discuss commitments in cutting down food waste
// The UK currently generates 10.2m tonnes of food waste each year
Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Waitrose are among the supermarkets that have pledged to halve food waste by 2030.
Ministers announced that the grocers, as well as Swiss multinational food & drink business Nestlé, will join around 300 businesses and individuals at a symposium on Monday to discuss their commitments to help cut down food waste.
It is estimated that the UK currently generates 10.2 million tonnes of food waste each year, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Of that total, 1.8 million tonnes comes from food manufacturing, one million tonnes from the hospitality sector, 260,000 tonnes from retail and the rest from households.
Meanwhile, the government is urging businesses to adopt the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap to help measure and report on efforts to cut back waste.
Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis – who recently called on the government for a two per cent online sales tax to combat rising business rates – welcomed the pledge and said UK food companies should publish their food waste data within the next 12 months as part of the deal.
Tesco said it would publish its latest food waste data in its annual report on Tuesday.
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