L-R: Dr Liz Goodwin, WRAP UK; Environment Minister, Mark H Durkan; a student from Belfast Metropolitan College; Sue Christie, NIEL and David Gavaghan, ARENA Network join forces today in Belfast to discuss how to tackle food waste at a conference, Too Good Too Waste

Members of the food and drink industry, public sector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are gathering today(21 November) at Belfast Metropolitan College for a ‘major’ conference on the global issue of food waste, and the circular economy.

‘Too Good to Waste: Realising the Value of Food’ has been organised by WRAP (and incorporates WRAP Northern Ireland’s Annual Meeting), Business in the Community, and Northern Ireland Environment Link to ‘set about taking practical steps for collective action to reduce and prevent food waste, to the benefit of the Northern Ireland economy and its environment’.

The conference brings together an array of work WRAP has been doing on food waste, and comes in tandem with the release of WRAP’s ‘Overview of waste in the UK Hospitality and Food Service Sector’report, which found that the UK’s hospitality and food service sector wastes £2.5 billion of food a year.

This follows on from similar WRAP research that discovered UK households throw away £12.5 billion of food a year.

Speakers and panelists scheduled to speak at the conference include:

• Mark H Durkan MLA, Northern Ireland’s Minister of the Environment;
• Dr Liz Goodwin, CEO of WRAP;
• Terry A’Hearn, Chief Executive of NI Environment Agency;
• William Dukelow from Northern Ireland’s Department of the Environment;
• Emma Marsh from Love Food Hate Waste; and
• Professor Sue Christie, Northern Ireland Environment Link.

Writing on WRAP NI’s website, Dr Ian Garner, WRAP'sManager for Northern Ireland, said:‘We’ve drawn together expert speakers and panelist[s] leading the way in food waste prevention, and on the circular economy, to share their knowledge and practical solutions. We’ll be outlining ways to cut food waste and how to work more efficiently through the circular economy model of business to maximise resource efficiency, minimise waste, and save money.

‘The Northern Ireland Environment Minister Mark H Durkan MLA will give the keynote speech and outline his department’s views on food waste, not least the recent announcement of a public consultation on introducing a ban for source segregated food waste from landfill in Northern Ireland.

‘WRAP’s Chief Executive Liz Goodwin will outline our own work on food waste prevention which is reducing food waste in the home through Love Food Hate Waste, and throughout the retail supply chain and in the hospitality sector by voluntary agreements like the Courtauld Commitment and Hospitality and Food Service Agreement.’

Goodwin added: “Our research shows that despite good work being undertaken both with household food waste and that of the hospitality and food service sector, there is much more that can still be done. Wasting food is quite literally wasting money, so I urge business and industry across Northern Ireland to work together to tackle this costly issue.

“The evidence suggests that building a more resource-efficient circular economy will help us deliver a more sustainable future, and I intend WRAP to be at the heart of delivering the vision here in Northern Ireland, in the UK and beyond.”

The conference comes in the middle of the European Week for Waste Reduction(16-24 November).

Find out more about ‘Too Good to Waste: Realising the Value of Food’.