Did Tesco waste 119 million meals last year?

“Tesco food waste rose to equivalent of 119m meals last year”

Guardian, 15 June 2016

 “Supermarket threw away equivalent of 119million meals last year despite initiatives to tackle the problem”

Daily Mail, 16 June 2016

“Tesco food waste increases to the equivalent of 119m meals in 2016”

Independent, 16 June 2016

Tesco estimates it produced 59,400 tonnes of food waste last year across all its UK retail operations, which includes its stores, petrol stations and food depots. It’s the only supermarket to publish figures on its food waste.

The figure doesn’t include waste produced by Tesco’s suppliers, or food bought from Tesco and wasted by households.

119 million meals

59,400 tonnes of food is the same as 119 million meals, if you define a meal as 500 grams of food and drink.

Would this look like a meal to you? On average, women in the UK aged between 19 and 65 eat about 2500 grams of food a day, whilst men eat about 3000 grams. Weight-wise, it’s about the same as a 500ml bottle of coke.

As an aside, the different types of food wasted probably don’t match the proportions you would eat them in. Nearly four-tenths of Tesco’s food waste, by weight, comes from its in-store bakeries. You probably don’t eat that much from that part of the store.

Defining food waste

Not all food waste is simply thrown away. For example, Tesco sells about 30% of its bakery waste to become animal feed, and the rest to companies that produce energy and fertilisers. The company says it hasn’t sent any food waste directly to landfill since 2009.

Some kinds of food waste are harder to avoid than others. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) suggests that all food waste by UK retailers is avoidable in theory, but only 44% could practically be avoided by 2025. We don’t know exactly how much of Tesco’s waste was avoidable.

Putting this in proportion

Last year, Tesco produced the equivalent of about 20% of the food waste produced by all UK grocery retailers in 2014, according to WRAP’s estimates, whilst holding about 30% of the UK grocery market. This comparison doesn’t include food sent to become animal feed because although Tesco defines it as food waste, WRAP doesn’t.

If we include food sent to become animal feed, Tesco’s food waste equalled about 25% of that produced by all UK grocery retailers in 2014.

Suppliers and customers

It’s likely that those 59,400 tonnes of food waste makes up only a small proportion of the food that is wasted in Tesco’s supply chain or after it’s been sold.

Supermarkets produce a relatively small proportion of the UK’s food waste through their own operations. Households throw away just under half of the UK’s food and drink waste, according to WRAP’s estimates, whilst food manufacturers waste about a quarter. Grocery retailers and wholesalers, which includes supermarkets, account for less than a fiftieth of the total.

Tesco runs programmes designed to reduce food waste by its suppliers and customers. And it’s signed the Courtauld commitment to help reduce food waste across the UK food industry as a whole.