Can playful messaging targeting the most commonly wasted food items cut household waste? Trewin Restorick looks at how a Hubbub partnership is looking to do just that.
As part of an on-going partnership with Hubbub, Suffolk Waste Partnership is now displaying new artwork on waste and recycling vehicles delivering a food savvy message across the county.
The campaign is seeking to reduce the 50,000 tonnes of food that are thrown away in Suffolk every year with each household annually wasting an estimated average £730 of edible food.
The new banners are on a fleet of 24 vehicles and contain three simple messages with easy advice for people to follow.
- Bananas – one of the most commonly wasted food items across the UK. You can bake with them or blend them rather than throw them in the bin.
- Bread – another of the most commonly wasted food items. You can freeze or toast bread to prevent it from being wasted.
- Freezing – food storage is key to preventing food waste. Check the dates on your food and remember to freeze it when it is nearly out of date. Bread, bananas, cheese and even milk can all be frozen!
The new banners are bright and colourful aiming to catch people’s attention encouraging them to reduce food waste in 2021. They are part of a shift in strategy for the Food Savvy campaign, which is running in both Norfolk and Suffolk, with the new approach targeting the most commonly wasted food items rather than a more generic food waste message.
This campaign highlighted the 6.7 million pints of milk thrown away across Norfolk, enough milk to fill the huge space inside the castle keep from the main floor to halfway up to the roof.
As part of this shift, a light installation illuminated Norwich Castle in November encouraging people to reduce the amount of milk they throw away. Splashed onto the castle was a video of milk being spilled with messages encouraging people to freeze their milk.
This campaign highlighted the 6.7 million pints of milk thrown away across Norfolk, enough milk to fill the huge space inside the castle keep from the main floor to halfway up to the roof.
FoodSavvy is an on-going collaborative campaign using local insight and international best practice to help Norfolk and Suffolk achieve their ambition of a 20% reduction in food waste by 2025. The impact of COVID19 has increased the importance of the campaign with more people cooking and eating at home.
Encouragingly, research by Hubbub in August 2020 revealed that two thirds of households are actively seeking support to cut food waste.
In the first two years, FoodSavvy has delivered 15 campaigns, exhibited at 70 events and collaborated with 100 organisations and influencers. Over 20,000 people have participated in events and workshops and 63,000 people have accessed the tips, guidance and recipes contained on the FoodSavvy website.
Click here for details of this and other Hubbub food campaigns.