A STAGGERING 74,000 tonnes of food a year are thrown away by people in Suffolk, new research has revealed today.

A STAGGERING 74,000 tonnes of food a year are thrown away by people in Suffolk, new research has revealed today.

The huge amount, calculated by environmental campaign group Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP), works out at 112kg per person in the county.

Most of the food is usable but instead of ending up on the dinner plate, it ends up in landfill sites.

Liberal Democrats on Suffolk County Council have responded to the statistic by urging support for a campaign to encourage people to cut food waste.

Speaking about the campaign, deputy leader of the party at the council, Andrew Cann, said: “It's quite incredible how much food we throw away.

“WRAP has found that nine out of ten people are currently not aware of the quantity of food they throw out but when it is brought to their attention, most want to do something about it.”

“We each have to play our part in protecting the environment. By avoiding wasting food, we can save money as well.”

Cllr Cann said there are a number of basic ways to avoid food waste such as working out what food is needed and writing a shopping list, rather than making choices when going around the supermarket.

He said people can also make more use of their fridge, freezer or airtight boxes rather than leaving food out in the open where it goes off quicker.

The cost of food being thrown away works out at £133 per person a year, Cllr Cann said.

“Added to this is what it costs the council taxpayer to collect and then dispose of the waste,” he added.

N What can be done to discourage food waste? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk

Factfile - How much is 112kg?

112kg works out as 17.6 stone

During his boxing prime former heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis weighed 112kg.

3360 packs of standard crisps

246 1lb jars of jam

11 separate sets of hand baggage right on the 10kg limit would still be 2kg

COUNCILLOR Andrew Cann revealed what waste he, his wife and three young sons have generated over the last two weeks.

He said: “Our black bin was emptied more than 10 days ago and it comes up to my feet, whereas our blue bin was only emptied on Thursday and already, it comes up to my waist.”

In his brown bin, there are vegetable peelings, used teabags, bits of banana, a few mushroom slices, and an end of a pepper.

The blue bin consists of milk cartons, an egg box, newspapers, an empty bottle of bleach, various council committee papers, and various marketing material.

The waste in their black bin is kept to a minimum, with only necessary items thrown away. This includes a soya milk carton, bits of cellophane, crusts of a pizza and a freezer bag that was used for dough.

Cllr Cann says the trick is to watch what you buy and store it correctly.

“We do not tend to eat pre-processed food and most of the things we cook are made from their original ingredients. This means the food has very little packaging.

“We don't live like hermits either-we do eat quite well.

“If we can do it as a family of five, I don't see why anyone else can't.”