Two thirds of people in Britain believe some household food waste is unavoidable despite the financial and environmental cost, according to new survey data.
Research from Love Food Hate Waste found 64% of people think throwing food away at home is inevitable with spoilage, expiry dates and unpredictable daily routines among the main reasons.
Yet the survey also revealed a perception gap with 80% of respondents saying they believe they waste less food than the national average.
Campaigners say that mindset must change as millions of tonnes of edible food are still being thrown away every year.
The figures come as Food Waste Action Week launches a five day national challenge aimed at helping households cut waste and make better use of the food they buy.
The campaign will also coincide with the rollout of Simpler Recycling in England from 31 March.
Around four in five homes will be able to have food waste collected weekly and recycled into organic material used to generate electricity and biomethane gas.
The scale of the issue remains significant with households throwing away 4.4 million tonnes of edible food every year.
That waste generates around 16 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and costs households a combined £17 billion annually.
Catherine David CEO at WRAP said: “The average household of four spends a whopping £1000 each year on good food that goes in the bin and could have been eaten.”
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