FOOD waste will be on the ‘menu’ when Euro experts on the matter meet their Devon counterparts at County Hall today.

The county authority is hosting representatives from five countries from today until Friday as part of the EU-funded ECOWASTE4FOOD project which supports eco-innovations to reduce food waste.

A recent survey of domestic waste showed that nearly a third of household dustbin waste in Devon is discarded food.

Local authorities are working with householders to advise them on cutting their food waste using a range of operational and communications initiatives such as the ‘Don’t let Devon go to waste’ campaign.

This project will help identify new innovations to help householders, manufacturers, retailers and primary producers cut their waste.

For the upcoming meeting, Devon County Council will welcome delegates from the Waste Agency of Catalonia, Spain; Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France; City of Ferrara, Italy; Regional Development Fund of Western Macedonia, Greece and Finland’s Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia.

The delegation will visit local companies such as Grocycle, which produces mushrooms on spent coffee grounds and the New Lion Brewery which recently brewed beer from surplus bread.

Annette Dentith, Devon County Council’s Principal Waste Manager, said: ‘We are excited to welcome our European colleagues to Devon to develop initiatives to reduce food waste across the supply chain.

‘It will be an excellent opportunity to showcase examples of local inventiveness. Together we can find innovative solutions to this significant problem.’