South West Waste Campaign In Line For National Award
29th July, 2010
The South West Love Food Hate Waste campaign has been short-listed for the 7th Annual Letsrecycle.com Awards for Excellence 2010.
The awards, to be held on 5th May at the Landmark Hotel in London, are renowned nationally for showcasing innovation, dedication and success in recycling and waste management and the region is one of 3 finalists in the Best Local Authority Recycling Initiative.
The campaign to reduce food waste, which ran last Autumn, was organised by the South West Waste and Recycling Forum (SWWRF), which has brought together 35 Local Authorities across the region. By working together and pooling resources, they created a campaign to provide advice on shopping, healthy portion sizes and using up leftovers.
Residents in the South West were asked to consider things like planning weekly meals, checking use by dates, using a shopping list and making a pledge to reduce food waste. Families in the region throw out, on average, up to £50 worth of good food every month, £600 a year that could be put to better use.
In total over 6,500 people made a pledge to reduce food waste and make small changes to their behaviour, for example by checking use by dates or using shopping lists, and in return were entered into a prize draw. Draw prizes included a gourmet weekend for four in St Ives or Ilfracombe, dinner for two in Dorset’s Restaurant of the Year 2009 and a bespoke cookery lesson for two at a cookery school in Bristol.
The South West Love Food Hate Waste campaign has been supported financially by the government funded Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the South West Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (SW RIEP), and the Environment Agency, with further money by a number of local authorities across the South West region.
The campaign also received the support of South West celebrities, including former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, BBC Radio Devon presenter Judi Spiers, and Plymouth Raiders basketball team.
This year’s award ceremony is to be hosted by Huw Edwards, Broadcaster of the 10 o’clock news with Jane Stephenson, MBE, Chief Executive of Resource Futures as guest speaker.
For more information and advice on reducing food waste, reusing and recycling as well as events and competitions in your area visit lovefoodhatewaste.com/southwest.
ENDS
