Welcome to the WRAP Food Trends & KPI Survey, a bi-annual exploration of UK households' attitudes, knowledge, and behaviours related to food waste. As the longest-running survey of its kind, it offers a unique lens into the ever-evolving landscape of food waste in the UK.
Conducted by Icaro between 9-20 November 2023, the survey comprises 5,151 interviews with UK adults responsible for food shopping and preparation at home.
Overall picture of the findings
The survey indicates a decrease in self-reported food waste to 20.2% in November 2023 from 21.7% in June 2023 (but in line with November 2022), coinciding with easing cost of living pressures while concerns about food waste have proved remarkably resilient against the backdrop of cost of living. Food prices still rank as the primary concern for over three in five (64%) of UK citizens.
Despite high awareness of food waste as a national issue (90%), personal responsibility indicators remain lower, with 67% agreeing that they are making more of an effort to reduce their food waste. Furthermore, one in four (25%) UK citizens is comfortable not using up all the food they buy, suggesting room for improvement in personal waste reduction practices. Positive changes are observed in food management competencies, reflecting increased efforts in managing purchased food items.
Key findings
- Self-reported food waste of the four key products decreased to 20.2% in November 2023 from 21.7% in June 2023, marking a 6.9% decrease. However, it remains high compared to 2018, 2020 and 2021.
- Contextual factors, such as easing cost of living pressures, are observed, yet food prices remain a top concern for 35% of UK citizens.
- Over a third (35%) of UK citizens select food waste in their top 5 food concerns but equally almost two in five (38%) don’t select it as a concern at all.
- Despite high awareness of food waste as a national issue (90%), personal responsibility indicators remain lower, with 67% agreeing that they are making more of an effort to reduce their food waste.
- Food management competencies show improvement, especially in buying and food preparation.
- Recall of information about food waste has declined, with only 29% recalling information about how to reduce food waste.
- Recognition of Love Food Hate Waste remains stable at 34% among UK citizens since 2021.
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DownloadUK Household Food Waste Tracking Survey - Autumn 2023
PDF, 2.18 MB