TRiFOCAL London – Transforming City Food Habits for Life – is the brainchild of WRAP and LWARB’s Resource London partnership. Backed by a £2.7m grant from the European Commission’s LIFE programme, the initiative could save Londoners £330m while reducing the estimated 900,000 of food that is discarded in the capital each year.

Resource London’s head of programme Antony Buchan said: “TRiFOCAL London represents a fantastic opportunity for Resource London to look at the bigger picture around food; what we consume in London, and how we deal with the unavoidable food waste that’s generated.

“We want to help Londoners consume food more sustainably, save money and get a bit healthier by doing it, and then use their food recycling services more effectively. TRiFOCAL will build on the work we’ve done with Recycle for London and the Little Wins Love Food Hate Waste campaign. It delivers an exciting new chapter in making the capital greener.”

The TRiFOCAL initiative will incorporate innovations aimed at preventing food waste by changing how consumers plan, shop, store and prepare for meals. The initiative will also mark the first time that Londoner’s will be taught how to recycle food waste that can’t be avoided – which amounts to an estimated 360,000 tonnes annually.

The initiative, which started this month (September), will run for three years and engage with 33 London boroughs with the help of housebuilders and hospitality and food service businesses. The London-wide trial will act as a test bed to develop a “food waste behavioural change resource bank”, which can then be used to help other European cities replicating the scheme.

Circles and Rice Krispie squares

With the TRiFOCAL programme aiming to build on a number of existing materials, research and campaigns, London provides an ideal setting to launch the trial. London Boroughs have already been urged to develop the “circular economy of food”, by separating food waste collection from general waste to boost activity in surrounding anaerobic digestion plants.

National charity FoodCycle has also called on London-based charities, community projects and faith centres to join them in the fight to tackle both food waste and poverty in the capital by joining surplus food donation schemes.

The TRiFOCAL trial will also be buoyed by the Courtauld Commitment, WRAP’s 10-year plan reduce food waste and carbon emissions through Britain’s food and drink firms. With new Mayor of London Sadiq Khan now at the helm, organisations believe that now is the ideal time to tackle food waste in the capital; by utilising private sector commitments and closed-loop practices.

Matt Mace

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