Angie Warren-Clark

Labour List MP
2 August 2018 MEDIA STATEMENT

The Environment Select Committee has unanimously agreed to Labour MP Angie Warren-Clark’s proposal for a targeted briefing about food waste in New Zealand.

“Every year Kiwis send over 122,500 tonnes of food to landfill, all of which could have been eaten. That’s enough to feed Dunedin for two years. Wasting this food costs the average household $563 a year,” says Warren-Clark.

“Since I became an MP in 2017, I have spoken with a number of waste minimisation organisations and food rescue groups. They’re doing great work, but we now need a nation-wide approach to the problem of food waste”.

Before coming to Parliament, Angie Warren-Clark managed Tauranga Women’s Refuge, which worked closely with its local food rescue organisation to reduce both waste and food insecurity for the women and families it helped.

The Environment Committee will be asking over 100 organisations and individuals to participate in the briefing. “We believe a targeted approach, focusing on the prevention of waste and redistribution of food, is the best way to address the issue”, says Warren-Clark.

The Committee will use a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals framework for its investigation. “Food waste relates to at least six of the 17 SDGs that New Zealand signed up to in 2015. Target 12.3 commits us to halving global food waste by 2030 – the Environment Committee wants to play our part in helping with this”.

Angie Warren-Clark hopes that looking into the problem will benefit more than just New Zealand’s environment. “Food waste covers social, economic and environmental issues. By tackling food waste, it will be a triple win”.

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