Food: Waste

House of Commons Commission written question – answered at on 24 January 2012.

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Photo of Kerry McCarthy Kerry McCarthy Shadow Minister (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs)

To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 19 July 2010, Official Report, column 51W, on Commons food waste, what estimate the Commission has made of the monetary value of food waste generated by House of Commons food outlets in each month since April 2010; what the outcome was of its review in 2009-10 of potential waste disposal schemes; and by what means food waste is currently redistributed or disposed of.

Photo of John Thurso John Thurso Chair, Finance and Services Committee, Chair, Finance and Services Committee

In the eight-month period from April 2010 until November 2010 the cumulative cost of food waste recorded was estimated at £56,996. No record is available month-by-month for this period and no record is available of the monthly or cumulative cost for the period from December 2010 until March 2011.

Since April 2011, the estimated cost of food waste in each month has been as follows:

Month Estimated cost of food waste (£)
April 2011 4,240
May 2011 4,767
June 2011 6,410
July 2011 3,258
August 2011 3,459
September 2011 4,811
October 2011 3,652
November 2011 5,970
December 2011 7,020
Total April to December 2011 43,586

In compiling the information to answer this question, it has become clear that wastage has not been consistently recorded in all areas and the above figures are likely to be understated. It is likely that the answer given on 19 July 2010, Hansard, column 51W, for the cost of food waste from April 2009 to March 2010 is similarly incorrect. We cannot compile wastage information retrospectively but we are taking action to capture and report this information correctly from the start of the next financial year in April 2012.

The review in 2009-10 of potential waste disposal schemes identified a preferred option of food waste composting. Food waste composting forms part of the new waste management contract, which commenced in November 2011. A food waste composting pilot for the Terrace Kitchen is due to start before the end of the 2011-12 financial year. Thereafter the scheme will be extended to the rest of the Estate.

Currently food waste is diverted from landfill and is sent to a local energy from waste facility.

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