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CORNWALL Love Food, Hate Waste campaign

As part of Cornwall’s ‘Love Food, Hate Waste’ Campaign, Cornwall’s Waste Awareness Team is busy helping us all save waste and money and intend to visit as many supermarkets in Cornwall as possible giving out free shopping lists and information about how to reduce food waste.


Partly funded through a Local Area Agreement and supported by the seven local authorities and the Environment Agency, the Awareness Team also visit schools, give presentations to local community groups and attend events.

The Love Food, Hate Waste campaign got underway this week in Truro’s Marks and Spencer store starting a tour of supermarkets which will visit Tesco, Morrisons, Somerfield, Asda and Co-op supermarkets across Cornwall until April 2nd 2008. Cornwall County Councils Executive Member for Environment and Heritage Adam Paynter (Lib Dem) and Paul Morgan, Marks and Spencer’s ‘Plan A Champion’ helped launch the programme in Truro.

Cornwall Council's Executive Member for Environment and Heritage Adam Paynter (Lib Dem) said “Preventing waste is not only one of the most positive actions that people can do to help the environment, it also saves householders money. Waste reduction also helps to keep council tax down as waste is very expensive to collect and dispose of. It will become even more expensive over the years as new environmental legislation to reduce greenhouse emissions from landfill begins to take effect”.



There are lots of thing that people can do to reduce waste, the easiest is to write a shopping list before leaving home, and this reduces impulse buying and helps plan meals. The new ‘Wasted’ leaflet has 20 ways to Shop Smart, including not shopping when hungry and taking reusable shopping bags.



For more information about waste reduction and recycling or to book a visit from the team go to: www.recycleforcornwall.org.uk <http://www.recycleforcornwall.org.uk/> or call 0800 612 0456.



The seven key messages to reduce waste are:

1. Shop Smart, plan you’re shopping to reduce food waste and packaging, take a reusable shopping bag and only buy what you really need;

2. Reuse, furniture, books, clothes etc at charity shops, reuse centres, free cycle, local community groups, local ads and car boot sales;

3. Home Composting and garden waste minimisation can reduce rubbish by 20%;

4. Reduce Junk mail through the mailing preference and contacting service providers such as banks and insurance companies;

5. Promotion of washable nappies;

6. Recycling, are you doing all that you can?

7. Clean Cornwall, litter prevention.



In January 2007 M&S announced Plan A, a five-year, £200 million, 100 point business-wide 'eco plan'. Under this plan, by 2012 M&S will become carbon neutral; send no waste to landfill; extend sustainable sourcing; set new standards in ethical trading and help customers and employees live a healthier lifestyle.


As part of Plan A, Marks & Spencer stores across the South West of England are taking part in a carrier bag charging trial, aimed at encouraging customers to significantly reduce the number of carrier bags they use. From Sunday 3rd February M&S will introduce a 5p charge for it standard food carrier bags in 35 stores across Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Somerset. All profits raised from sales of the standard food carrier bags will be donated to local charity, Groundwork UK and used for environmental regeneration projects in disadvantaged areas across the South West.



‘Love Food Hate Waste’ Campaign Supermarket tour
January
29-30th Truro M & S

February
1st & 4th Wadebridge Tesco
6th & 7th Penzance Morrisons
8th Camborne Tesco
11th Liskeard Somerfield
12th Penryn Asda
14th & 15th St Austell Tesco
18th-20th Newquay Morrisons
26th & 27th Launceston Tesco
29th & 3rd Helston Somerfield

March
4th & 5th Pool Tesco
6th & 7th Bodmin Morrisons
10th & 11th Helston Tesco
13th Truro Tesco
17th & 18th Truro Somerfield
19th St Ives Tesco
22nd Roche Co-op
25th & 26th Liskeard Morrisons
31st St Blazey Somerfield

April
1st & 2nd Bude Morrisons