Lidl aims to cut food waste by 70 per cent

Lidl has set a new target to cut food waste by 70 per cent with a trial that allows volunteers and shoppers to collect and redistribute surplus food themselves.

The scheme, called Surplus Saviours, is run in partnership with Lidl’s charity partner Neighbourly, has been announced to mark Food Waste Action Week, taking place from 9-15 March.

The trial, which will begin in the Midlands, is expected to redistribute more than 5,000 tonnes of food through extended collection times and access to fresh and chilled items approaching their use‑by date later in the evening.

It comes as Lidl said it has exceeded its original target to reduce food waste by 40 per cent by the end of 2025, fuelled by reducing wastage in the bakery section and selling more loose fruit and vegetables. 

“At Lidl, we set ambitious targets that challenge how we operate and inspire innovation when it comes to food waste. We’ve made good strides, but we know we can do more,” said Lidl’s head of sustainability, Matt Juden-Bloomfield.

“With that in mind, we have increased our targets to ensure we remain accountable and also introduced some exciting new trials to take things to the next level,” he said. 

Lidl is also beginning a new animal feed trial taking place in the Peterborough region to divert inedible fresh bakery lines.

“For the past 10 years, Lidl GB has been an active and engaged signatory of WRAP’s UK Food & Drink Pact,” said Wrap’s director of food system transformation, Estelle Herszenhorn.

“It has been fantastic seeing them offer loose fruits and vegetables and adopting best practice labelling. Both practices help shoppers reduce their household food waste.

“We are delighted to see increased paths for redistribution where food is surplus – a move Wrap also encourages,” she added.

Since 2016, Lidl has donated 50 million meals by redistributing surplus food through its Feed it Back scheme, delivered in partnership with Neighbourly.