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The Business of Recycling – WRAP
Guidance for Retail and Wholesale
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Why your Retail or Wholesale organisation needs to recycle

The benefits of reducing food waste for Retail and Wholesale organisations

Estimated reading time: 3 min

According to WRAP food waste arisings in the UK in 2021 were estimated at 10.7 million tonnes. This estimate covers households, hospitality & food service (HaFS), food manufacture, retail, and farm sector. By weight, food waste from the retail sector makes up makes up 2% of the total. This means that each year around 234,000 tonnes of food is wasted costing the UK retail industry £0.74 billion per annum.

Food waste is made up of wasted food (referred to as ‘edible parts’) and inedible parts (e.g., eggshells, animal bones, inedible fruit peel). For the retail sector it is assumed that all food wasted is edible.

The Food Waste Reduction Roadmap is the leading free access initiative for UK food businesses, developed by industry in collaboration with WRAP and the IGD. Guidance is provided for specific sectors such as food retail operations. Read our case studies to learn how businesses like yours have implemented changes to reduce their food and drink waste. Our quick-start Action List will also help your business reduce food waste.

Statutory Guidance is also available for businesses or organisations which produce, handle, treat, or dispose of surplus or waste food and drink.

Food and drink material hierarchy

Similar to the waste hierarchy, which all businesses and organisations have a duty to follow, WRAP’s food and drink material hierarchy encourages waste prevention at source, with disposal as a last resort.

WRAPs food and drink material hierarchy

If food and drink waste cannot be prevented, this hierarchy prioritises the redistribution of edible food to people first, and to then be used in animal feed, ahead of recycling or composting food waste.

By following this hierarchy, you will be able to:

  • minimise the environmental impact of your organisation’s food and drink waste

  • maximise the value of food and drink surplus, e.g. by reselling or donating to charity

  • reduce associated waste, e.g. packaging from food goods and products.

Food redistribution

Did you know it’s safe to redistribute edible food, unless its past its use-by date.

You’ll find all the information you need to help increase the amount of surplus food your organisation redistributes at WRAP’s Surplus Food Redistribution Resource Hub.