Food waste is a bigger cause of climate change than plastics, according to Zero Waste Scotland.
Zero Waste Scotland Chief executive Iain Gulland said:"Food waste is actually a bigger cause of climate change than plastics."
When food waste ends up in landfill it rots, producing methane gas, one of the most damaging greenhouse gases driving climate change.
Research by Zero Waste Scotland found that 456,000 tonnes of food waste was collected in Scotland in 2016. About 224,000 tonnes of plastic waste was collected that year.
Zero Waste Scotland Chief executive Iain Gulland said:"Food waste is actually a bigger cause of climate change than plastics."
However, he added it was still vital to reduce plastic waste, which remains an "extremely serious issue". It also causes damage to the environment and wildlife when discarded inappropriately.
Zero Waste Scotland calculated that the carbon footprint of food waste collected from Scottish households that year was nearly three times that of plastic waste collected from people's homes, at roughly 1.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) compared to 0.73MtCO2e.
Zero Waste Scotland calculated that the carbon footprint of food waste collected from Scottish households that year was nearly three times that of plastic waste collected from people's homes, at roughly 1.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) compared to 0.73MtCO2e.
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