Londoners are throwing away over 48,800 tonnes of edible vegetables at home each year, a new study shows,
The survey of 2,000 people, commissioned by Bosch VitaFresh and conducted this month by OnePoll, found 59.5 per cent of Londoners admit to wasting fresh produce regularly, with nearly 20 per cent of vegetables bought each week ending up in the bin.
Nearly 80 per cent said they purchase new, fresher vegetables before using what they have in the fridge - but only around 30 per cent considered themselves to be contributing to the food waste epidemic.
More than 75 per cent of London-based respondents cited vegetables going off at home as the reason for wastage, with 24 per cent buying too much to use at the supermarket.
The capital’s “most wasted” vegetable was revealed to be bagged salad, with lettuce and potatoes following close behind.
Recent research conducted by Sainsbury’s showed more than £37 million worth of fresh vegetables are thrown away each year in the UK.
London-based food waste charity The Felix Project redistributes 2,000 of the 100,000 tonnes of edible food wasted annually in the UK.
Its head of operations Mark Simpson said: “This research is a reminder of the scandalous level of food waste, which is bad for the environment and bad for people’s household budgets.”
