Food Waste

In 2017, we formed a partnership with FareShare, a charity dedicated to eliminating food insecurity and reducing food waste across the UK. All our stores with surplus food can scan and upload products using the FareShare app. The surplus food is collected by FareShare who distribute it to charities, enabling them to feed those in need. Any food FareShare is unable to take is shared with Olio’s Waste Heroes or given to Partners.
 

Waitrose converts 100% of food that is unsuitable for human consumption into either energy for use in the agriculture sector (using anaerobic digestion) or animal feed.

Over 60% of food waste in the UK takes place at home. We’re committed to helping our customers tackle this challenge, aiming to help halve our customers' household food waste by 2030. A dedicated page on Waitrose.com offers practical advice on how customers can make sure food that’s still fit to eat is never wasted.
 

In 2024, we collaborated with WRAP at Waitrose’s Thatcham store to test how different messaging affects sales of loose fruit and vegetables. Buying loose produce can help people reduce food waste at home, and the trial’s results highlighted some of the barriers preventing customers from buying more produce this way.

Food waste is a critical issue across our entire supply chain, and one the retail industry is committed to solving. Waitrose has pledged to halve food waste in our supply chain by 2030 and we require all own-brand UK suppliers to annually measure and report food waste through WRAP’s UK Food and Drink Pact: Food Waste Reduction Roadmap. Since 2021 we have been monitoring reported levels of food waste from key suppliers, who account for approximately 50% of Waitrose’s food purchased by volume. 

In 2023, suppliers in scope reduced the reported volume of food waste arising from their operations. The pace of change however is behind what is needed if we are to meet the target of halving supplier food waste by 2030. Food redistributed by suppliers for human consumption has increased by more than 50%. Food redistributed for animal consumption has risen by 8%. These year-on-year increases have helped reduce incineration and anaerobic digestion. Some suppliers are also actively developing innovative methods to repurpose and reuse surplus and waste products, fostering a circular economy.

However, adverse climatic conditions impacted growing conditions and crop quality leading to an increase in composting and land application of surplus food. Methodologies to measure food waste by suppliers are also sometimes subject to change, which prompted us to adjust our baseline in 2023.