The war on waste continues

The ongoing battle to reduce our massive food waste problem is prompting retailers to examine the problem from all angles and come up with creative solutions.

In the U.K., Asda, for instance, has become the first grocer to demonstrate how much money consumers can save through their efforts to curb food waste at home.

The Walmart-owned retailer recently announced that since the launch of its multi-channel food waste campaign, initiated in partnership with the University of Leeds’ School of Earth and Environment, consumers saved £57 (about C$100) each year by wasting less food.

Asda’s campaign to tackle food waste at home focused on arming consumers with useful information on proper food storage and labelling as well as providing creative recipe ideas for leftovers. In-store events also helped to encourage consumers to commit to making changes that would result in less food being tossed in the trash.

Read about Asda’s work on food waste

Meanwhile Waitrose, another U.K. retailer, has just launched two new pastas with packaging made from food waste.

Part of its Waitrose LoveLife range, the packaging for the gluten free green pea and red lentil pastas is made, in part, from peas and pulses that aren’t deemed good enough to be used in the product. Rather than trashing the undesirable ingredients, the retailer decided to use them in the package instead.

Waitrose says 15% of the pasta packages are made from food waste, which has resulted in the company reducing the use of virgin tree pulp by 15% and lowering greenhouse gas emission by 20% The sustainable pack is also 100% recyclable.

Read more from Waitrose