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SUPERMARKET multi-buys have been blamed for creating Britain’s wasteful food mountain, which resulted in almost £14billion worth of grub binned last year.

Town hall bosses claimed 10 million tons of unwanted produce thrown out by families was going to landfill sites.

And after Local Government Association figures showed the average ­household scrapped £520 worth of food, last year, they called on chains to scrap multi-buys on meat, dairy, fruit and veg. Instead, the LGA wants to see discounts on individual items. Its environment chief Clyde Loakes said it was “heartbreaking” that half of the food thrown out was within its sell-by date.

He added: “Buy one get one free deals, which give consumers a few days to munch through 16 clementines, are not about providing value for money.”

Waste and Resources Action Programme said that for every three bags of food bought, one is binned.

The group has worked with stores to cut waste by 670,000 tons since 2005 but it said: “There’s more to be done.”