West Sussex County Council backs national campaign to tackle food waste

Friday, 14 March 2025 08:00

West Sussex County Council is backing Food Waste Action Week, a national campaign raising awareness of the environmental and financial costs of food waste.

Research shows food waste costs the average person £20 per month—or £80 for a family of four. In West Sussex, food makes up a third of household rubbish, with 70% of it still edible when discarded.

This year’s campaign focuses on reducing packaging by encouraging shoppers to buy loose fruit and vegetables, helping cut both food and plastic waste.

Councillor Deborah Urquhart, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change at West Sussex County Council, added: “In West Sussex, we know that much of the food waste in our rubbish bins could have been avoided. In fact, 70% could have been eaten at some point prior to being thrown away. Of that, 41% is just not used in time and 25% is binned because too much has been cooked. 

“Our Council Plan is underpinned by a commitment to protect the environment. By supporting Food Waste Action Week, we aim to reduce the amount of edible food ending up in general waste and encourage sustainable shopping habits.” 

The Waste and Resources Action Programme ‘s (WRAP) Love Food Hate Waste campaign, running from 17 to 23 March 2025.

Alongside a social media push, West Sussex Recycles will support the campaign by hosting waste prevention stands and giving away free waste prevention tools at various community events: 

Horsham Library – Monday, 17 March 2025 
Oving Community Food Hub – Tuesday, 18 March 2025
Broadfield Community Food Hub – Wednesday, 19 March 2025 
Worthing Community Food Hub – Thursday, 20 March 2025 
Crawley Library – Friday, 21 March 2025 
Worthing Library – Saturday, 22 March 2025 
Storrington Community Food Hub – Wednesday, 26 March 2025 
Bognor Community Food Hub – Wednesday, 2 April 2025 
Petworth Community Food Hub – Thursday, 3 April 2025 
Haywards Heath Community Food Hub – Friday, 4 April 2025 
Southwick Community Food Hub – Wednesday, 9 April 2025

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