Courtauld Commitment prevents 1.2 million tonnes of food and packaging waste

Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has shown the Courtauld Commitment prevented 1.2 million tonnes of food and packaging waste from entering the household waste stream in the last five years.

The Courtauld Commitment is a responsibility deal between the UK grocery sector and WRAP, and delivered in partnership with local authorities.

The results of the first phase shows that 670,000 tonnes of food waste and 520,000 tonnes of packaging have been avoided across the UK between 2005 and 2009.

The value of this avoided food and packaging waste is estimated at £1.8bn and the CO2 equivalent emissions avoided amount to around 3.3 million tonnes.

Two of the three Courtauld targets have been achieved, one to design out packaging waste growth, with zero growth achieved in 2008 and another to reduce food waste by 155,000 tonnes per year, which was exceeded with 270,000 tonnes per year less food waste arising in 2009/10 than in 2007/08.

They are yet to achieve the third target of reducing the total amount of packaging waste over the same period. Total packaging has remained at approximately 2.9 million tonnes between 2006 and 2009.

The main reason behind this is a 6.4 per cent increase in grocery sales volumes since the agreement began in 2005 and participating retailers taking a greater proportion of the market for beer and wine.

Bottles and cans for beer, wine and cider represent a third of all grocery packaging by weight.

However, on average, across the range of groceries we buy packaging has reduced by around 4 per cent for each product, whether through using more concentrated detergents, or lightweight cans.

Liz Goodwin, CEO at WRAP, which manages the Courtauld Commitment, said: "Bringing together major players, including all the big supermarkets, and drawing on our combined expertise, is really helping householders put less packaging and food waste in their bins."

Further information:
Waste and Resources Action Programme