Residents are being asked to nominate their Lincolnshire loose fruit and vegetable champion during Food Waste Action Week
This year, Food Waste Action Week, which takes place from 17 to 23 March 2025, raises awareness of the benefits of buying loose fruit and veg, which helps to prevent thousands of tonnes of food and plastic film from ending up in the bin, while saving money in the process.
The county council is supporting the week and celebrating the area’s amazing grocers, markets, farm shops, and supermarkets who make it easier for us to shop savvy and reduce our impact on the environment.
Research from Love Food Hate Waste has shown that if all apples, bananas and potatoes were sold loose, 8.2 million shopping baskets worth of food waste could be prevented every year.
Chris Yorston, head of waste at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “A whopping 1.7 million tonnes of fruit and veg is thrown away every year in the UK. This costs a household of four £1,000 on average each year.
“Shopping savvy and buying more of our fruit and veg loose is one of many small things we can do that all add up to make a big difference and reduce our impact on the environment.
“As one of the country’s most important food producing counties, providing almost a third of the UK’s vegetables, we also wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate Lincolnshire’s amazing producers and give a shout out to the businesses that make it easier for us to buy loose fruit and veg.”
The council continues to roll out creative schemes to help people reduce the amount we throw away and reuse items as many times as possible.
Earlier this month the county’s second Community RePaint store opened at Louth Household Waste Recycling Centre, where people can donate and pick up leftover tins of paint for free.
This follows the hugely successful launch of the Grantham Community RePaint. Since its opening in December 2024, 1,000 litres of paint have already been stopped from going to waste.
As well as the Community RePaint sites, the county council also runs a Reuse shop at Tattershall where visitors can browse a treasure trove of pre-loved items at bargain prices.
People can see the range of products on offer, including TVs and monitors, furniture, bikes and much more, by following the Lincolnshire Reuse Facebook page.
Find out more about waste and recycling in Lincolnshire on our website.