Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on food waste in Wales, and explain what consideration the Welsh Government has given to introducing statutory measures to limit the amount of food being thrown away in particular by supermarkets?
Wales has made significant progress reducing the amount of food we unnecessarily throw away. Figures published by WRAP show a 12% reduction of household food waste in Wales between 2009 and 2015 (on a per person basis from 115.0 kg to 102.9 kg per person per year). Wales’ household food waste per person is now lower than the rest of the UK by around 9%.
My ambition is to accelerate progress. In August 2017 I announced my proposal to consult on the introduction of a non-statutory target to halve food waste in Wales by 2025, against a 2006 - 2007 baseline. I intend to launch a consultation on this later this year as part of an update of the Waste Strategy. WRAP’s data suggests that around 70% of UK food waste (post farm gate) comes from households and there is potential to reduce this further. I will want to consider all parts of the supply chain but I am not currently proposing statutory measures for supermarkets or anyone else.
At a practical level, the Welsh Government also provides funding to FareShare Cymru, a charity which works to fight food poverty by tackling food waste. It redistributes surplus edible food from the food and drink industry to organisations in Wales that feed people in need, turning an environmental problem into a social solution. Since 2011 FareShare Cymru South Wales has redistributed enough food to serve up more than five million meals.