Out of all the challenges facing us, food insecurity is one of the most pressing. Yet, even as over 2 billion people lack access to nutritious or sufficient food, over 30% of food is wasted each year. Food waste is both bad for the environment and our pocket, estimated to cost the world 1 trillion dollars on an annual basis.
In recognition of the food waste’s negative impacts, the UK government has made food waste recycling mandatory under the new Simpler Recycling legislation passed this year. That makes this an opportune time to write this blog on the future of commercial food waste.
As of March 2025, food waste recycling is mandatory for all businesses with more than 10 employees in the UK.
This government and DEFRA mandated change was introduced as part of Simpler Recycling reforms under the Environment Act 2021. Supported by organisation like WRAP and environmental groups, tackling commercial food waste in this way is helping the UK to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cut landfill use and recover valuable resources.
The future of commercial food waste will be for all businesses to recycle their food waste. As of 2027, all businesses regardless of size as well as households will be required to recycle their food waste.
Producing food requires a significant amount of land, water, and energy, so wasting food ultimately wastes these resources. The amount of land used to grow food that is wasted is 1.4bn hectares or close to 30% of agricultural land. This is land that could once again be home to the forests, grasslands, or any number of biodiverse ecosystems that have been destroyed because of agricultural expansion.
Water is needed for all stages of the food production process, with agriculture accounting for 70% of water used worldwide. Wasting food means we waste all the resources that went into producing it. With additional pressure on water reserves from climate change, this is something that needs to change.
Food waste is also a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions because it’s end destination is often general waste. When in general waste, food decomposes anaerobically, producing methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas significantly more potent than carbon dioxide, so its production turbocharges climate change.
There is, however, a silver lining to this: reducing methane emissions could drastically slow the rate at which our world is warming.
We can’t control all sources of methane, but food waste is one we can influence – and it’s something everyone can help reduce.
Anaerobic digestion takes place when organic (food) waste is broken down without oxygen being present in a controlled and stored process. Food is placed into a digester and broken down to produce biogas – a mix of methane, carbon dioxide, a small volume of hydrogen sulphide, and water vapour – which can be used in energy generation. Depending on size, commercial digesters can power communities for up to 250 hours. Uptake of biogas is slow, but with government support and community engagement, biogas has the potential to accelerate decarbonisation whilst dealing with food waste.
Another way to tackle food waste is by transforming it into nutrient rich fertiliser. These fertilisers enrich soil by improving soil health which in turn is good for plants and can reduce the dependence of UK farming on chemical fertilisers.
Chemical fertilisers are problematic because they cause water pollution when they leach into groundwater. In bodies of water, the excess nitrogen and phosphorus from runoff can increase algae and bacterial blooms which deplete oxygen resources leading to dead zones. The production of chemical fertilisers release greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide, as well as other harmful chemicals like ammonia and nitrogen oxides which are harmful to human health.
So, recycling food waste by turning it into compost can result in multiple benefits beyond just improving soil health.
Smart packaging could be used to prevent food waste by providing real-time monitoring across the supply chain. Advance sensors which measure spoilage indicators allow for up-to-the-minute tracking of freshness, improving both food safety and stopping edible food from being discarded. Such tracking would also catch issues like contamination early, saving companies from very public recalls, protecting a company’s reputation and lowering legal liabilities.
Of course, no matter how much we reduce food waste there will always be some. It’s therefore very important we make best use of it. A newly emerging category is using food waste in the production of prebiotics. Prebiotics are nutrients which bring a host of health benefits like boosting good bacteria, improving absorption of micronutrients, and supporting the immune system.
Although prebiotics exist naturally in foods, it is rare for them to be present in large quantities, so industries have taken to synthesising them. Now thanks to a breakthrough by scientists from the Universities of Nottingham and Reading, prebiotics could be synthesised from potato waste on an industrial scale. This process, which uses microwaves and water, could be applied to other food waste items. Even better, because microwaves can be powered by renewable energy, the process produces zero carbon emissions.
Recorra is tackling food waste is by giving it a new lease of life. Recorra sends the food waste we collect to anaerobic digestion facilities where it’s transformed into:
Recorra has partnered with Limetrack to support the development of self-weighing bins that are explicitly designed to tackle food waste. Their innovative, patent-pending technology will give users the ability to track their food waste in great detail as it can measure the exact volume of waste at every stage from preparation to plate and track food spoilage. This could help users tailor portion sizes and food orders, helping them reduce waste while simultaneously saving money.
Another way that Recorra helps to tackle food waste is through our partnership with the charity Plan Zheroes. Plan Zheroes hosts an online platform that helps businesses with surplus food notify local charities. These charities come and collect the food and redistribute it to people in need. For every food waste collection, Recorra donates the equivalent of a meal to Plan Zheroes.
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