In the run up to one of the busiest times of the year for food producers, retailers and charities, as the UK’s leading food waste recycler, we have launched a campaign to reduce business food waste and donate money to homeless charities.
Last year, our campaign raised £4,000 for our chosen charities and diverted an additional 192tonnes of waste food away from landfill. This year’s project will see donations made to homeless charities for every new bin collection signed up during November, December and January.
The charities involved in the initiative all work with homeless, vulnerable people, an issue that comes into particular focus around Christmas. Leeds-based St George’s Crypt; Manchester charity Barnabus; independent, Liverpool-based charity The Whitechapel Centre; SHP in Dagenham; and Sheffield’s Sunday Centre, will all receive financial support from the campaign.
Philip Simpson, Commercial Director at ReFood, said: “This campaign highlights two important issues over the festive period: homelessness and wastefulness. We were delighted that last year’s campaign could support the vital work these charities do, whilst promoting an important message about diverting waste food from landfill. With the 2016 festive period just around the corner, we’re confident that this year’s campaign will be a similar success. We’d encourage all businesses involved in the food supply chain to think about their waste strategy, and recycle any waste food, and this campaign serves to highlight that.”
Over last year’s busy winter months, ReFood provided waste collection services to a total of 2,566 new businesses, meaning that significant amounts were raised for the chosen causes. The campaign also prevented an additional 192 tonnes of food waste from going to landfill, reducing carbon emissions equivalent to the average produced by a household over a 40-year period.