Supermarkets must aim to halve their food waste by 2030, the government has urged.

Action is also needed from manufacturers and suppliers will also have to dramatically reduce the amount of food that is thrown away.

People's individual roles in the fight against food waste is also being targeted, with social media influencers and chefs also being asked to pledge to cut waste.

More than 10 million tonnes of food is wasted in the UK each year.

Some 1.8 million of that waste comes from food manufacture, one million from the hospitality industry and 260,000 from retail. The rest is from households.


Ben Elliot, the government's food surplus and waste champion, is leading the initiative calling on both suppliers and shoppers to be more efficient with food.

He is asking nearly 300 organisations and individuals to adopt a package of pledges when they attend an event later this month aimed at tackling food waste.

Image: More than 10 million tonnes of food is wasted in the UK each year

Mr Elliot said: "Wasting food is an environmental, moral and financial scandal."

It's expected that businesses will be encouraged to set their own targets and to adopt the food waste reduction roadmap to help companies measure and report effort to cut back waste.

Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons among those already signed up to the roadmap. However, only 90 out of the 250 largest food businesses targeted have joined the initiative.

Mr Elliot will host the Step up to the Plate symposium alongside Environment Secretary Michael Gove at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London on 13 May.

Mr Gove said: "The UK is showing real leadership in this area, but I urge businesses to join me in signing the pledge so we can bring about real change."

The efforts will help align the UK with the UN sustainable development goal of halving global food waste by 2030 per person.

The government has committed to investing £15m in tackling food waste.