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Due to the complexity of measuring food waste, annual estimates are not produced. Significant progress has been made to improve food waste data, including: the development of digital waste tracking, due to go live in 2025; and the publication of Zero Waste Scotland’s Household Waste Composition Analysis in October 2023.

This information is published annually in the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Reports (available at: https://sustainablescotlandnetwork.org/reports/the-scottish-government and are provided below:

• 2016 - 2017: 127 tonnes;
• 2017 - 2018: 352 tonnes;
• 2018 - 2019: 366 tonnes;
• 2019 - 2020: 217 tonnes;
• 2020 - 2021: 70 tonnes;
• 2021 - 2022: 70 tonnes; and
• 2022 - 2023: 131 tonnes.

As noted in the recently published Draft Circular Economy and Waste Route Map , Scotland is highly unlikely to meet its target to reduce food waste by 33% by 2025. To accelerate our rate of progress, the Scottish Government has committed to reset its approach to tackle food waste, and is engaging with key partners across the food and drink sector to identify effective food waste reduction actions.

This detail is not available at sector-level. There was no remuneration for Food Waste champions. Between 2019 and 2022 (inclusive), 245 workshops were held with 2,952 attendees in total. This engagement would have contributed to recent food waste levels as outlined in the 2021 Scottish Food Waste Estimate, available at: https://cdn.zerowastescotland.org.uk/managed-downloads/mf-cdtg7vnr-1696942041d . This shows, per capita, food waste between 2018 and 2021 in the food and drink manufacturing and other sectors roughly stayed the same.

Scottish Government has provided FareShare with the following funding to support food redistribution:

• 2022 - 2023: £463,000 ; and
• 2023 – 2024: £315,000.

Scottish Government also indirectly funds Zero Waste Scotland which supports a range of food waste redistribution projects.

Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) supported this project which was led by Developing Young Workforce (DYW) Dundee & Angus, in partnership with the Food and Drink Federation Scotland and the Food & Drink Team at Abertay University.Despite schools being provided with resources and financial incentives to take part, there was low uptake, resulting in the project not being taken forward.

For further details of the guidance that ZWS issued to schools, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24284 on 10 January 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers 

As set out in the Food Waste Reduction Action Plan (2019), the Food Redistribution Matchmaking Service was intended to support linking up redistributors, producers, retailers, and wholesalers to access food surpluses and redistribute.

The matchmaking service commenced in July 2020. However, the COVID-19 emergency response led to several similar informal networks and new collaborations, often supported by the local authority, to ensure food surplus was redistributed. For this reason, the matchmaking service provided by Zero Waste Scotland had low levels of engagement. Rather than developing an alternative service, Zero Waste Scotland directs organisations with a food surplus to the FareShare Surplus with Purpose scheme.

In 2021-22, Scottish Government’s direct funding of £200,000 to FareShare’s Surplus with Purpose supported 1,001 tonnes of surplus food from Scottish growers being redirected to communities across the UK. This made the equivalent of 2.3 million meals.

The report on Household food and drink waste in Scotland 2014 was published by Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS). ZWS does not have current plans to update the estimate set out in this report.

Zero Waste Scotland supported Glasgow City Council Education Services to run a food waste pilot across five schools in 2021. However, due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and the cost of living crisis, operational priorities shifted towards cost of living support. As a result, the project was only partly delivered.

Zero Waste Scotland has undertaken analysis of data gathered and provided a food waste baseline and recommendations for reduction to these schools.

There was Scottish Government marketing spend in the below years. Figures are provided, along with links to the full published reports, for the Member’s ease.

• 2018 – 2019: £303,516.65 - https://www.gov.scot/publications/marketing-spend-2018-2019/ ;
• 2019 – 2020: £86,102.44 - https://www.gov.scot/publications/marketing-spend-2019-2020/
• 2021 – 2022 - £171,653.75 - https://www.gov.scot/publications/marketing-spend-2021-to-2022/

Based on available information up until 2022, the total marketing spend from 2016 was £561,272.84.

In addition, the total spent on food waste communications activities by the Scottish Government’s Circular Economy Division from 2016 to present was £175,766.93.

Finally, the Scottish Government funds Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) to deliver the Food Waste reduction programme. ZWS has confirmed the total spent on communications for food waste reduction activities since September 2017 was £897,000. For a breakdown of this spend, ZWS can be contacted by email at: PolicySupport@zerowastescotland.org.uk.