Hospitality firms pledge to cut food waste by 5%

American fast-food chain McDonald's has joined forces with the Houses of Parliament, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and Greggs the bakers, in a bid to reduce food and packaging waste

They are among 73 organisations from the hospitality sector to sign a new voluntary agreement with WRAP.

Under the Hospitality and Food Service Agreement, signatories will work together to meet a shared target to cut waste by 5% by 2015, and increase the proportion of food and packaging waste sent to compost or used in anaerobic digestion to 70%.

According to WRAP, if just one-quarter of hospitality companies in the UK sign up to the agreement, the sector could save the equivalent of 100 million wasted meals a year and cut greenhouse-gas emissions annually by 570,000 tonnes.

Mark Linehan, managing director at the Sustainable Restaurant Association, described the agreement as “a great step forward” in the battle to reduce food waste. “We particularly welcome the emphasis on waste prevention,” he said. “Producing less waste saves operators money and time spent managing the waste.”

In June, WRAP also launched the Product Sustainability Forum, an initiative bringing together 80 organisations to tackle the environmental impacts of common consumer products.

The forum, whose members include Coca Cola and Waitrose, will analyse the waste, energy, water and carbon impacts of products such as tinned foods and DIY materials throughout their life cycle, and collaborate on how best to minimise them.