Food waste bill to be revived by Bristol MP

Kerry McCarthy will continue her fight to reduce food waste when she introduces a new bill into parliament.

The Labour MP for Bristol East saw her previous Food Waste (Reduction) Bill fail after it ran out of time in 2012.

But McCarthy hopes the resurrected bill, introduced on the third day after returning from the first recession of the new parliament, will get the support it needs to force industry to tackle food waste.

Legislation under the bill would force supermarkets and other large distributors to donate unsold food to charities, food banks and breakfast clubs, instead of throw it away.

It would also ensure manufacturers and major industry players published transparent food waste audits to show how much is wasted and at what part in the process.

McCarthy, one of parliament’s only vegans, told Bristol24/7: “There’s been a lot of focus on household waste, and we’ve made good progress.

“But with me, I’m really focused on the bigger industry. I don’t think we should let the manufacturers and distributers off the hook.”

McCarthy will introduce her bill under the ten minute rule after Prime Minister’s Question Time on Wednesday.

Fab @Tesco Super Sorter #heroes sorting the huge food mountain donated by millions in June’s N’hood Food Collection pic.twitter.com/ZfUCnmgrhz

— FareShare (@FareShareUK) August 19, 2015

It is estimated that Between 30 to 50 per cent of all food grown globally is wasted.

McCarthy added: “It cannot be right that at a time of rising food poverty and global hunger that so much produce is wasted.

“While a number of great organisations already work with the food industry to prevent waste – with Bristol being a hotspot for this kind of work – currently just two per cent of surplus food is redistributed by such groups. 

“This Bill will make some much-needed progress towards tackling waste in the food industry, as the sector’s voluntarily targets simply haven’t been ambitious enough to drive the level of reduction needed.

“Given that there is a strong charity case for this piece of legislation beyond just the environmental arguments, I am confident that this is a cause which MPs from all parties can get behind.”

McCarthy said some progress has been made encouraging large companies to reduce waste by donating food, citing Tesco as one of the best supermarkets in the UK.

The MP is holding a launch event for the bill in Parliament on Tuesday afternoon, ahead of her introducing it to the House of Commons the following day.

She said she already has cross-party support from some Conservative, Green and SNP MPs backing the proposals.

The bill also has the support of environmental and anti-waste campaign groups, including WWF, Friends of the Earth and Bristol food redistribution charity FareShare.

However, she said she still expects some Government resistance. She told Bristol24/7: “What the Government will say is that things are going well and progress is being made. My argument is, it is happening too slowly.”