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BBC to launch new series on waste

The BBC has announced that it will run a new, three-part series on waste next year, with campaigner and chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall presenting the programme.

BBC to launch new series on waste
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Although the exact airing date has not yet been released, at some point in 2015, BBC One will air the programme, ‘Waste’ (working title), which will see Fearnley-Whittingstall reveal what happens to residual waste and recyclables following collection and identify the cost and impacts of food waste, textile waste (in the fashion industry), and business waste.

The series will also set challenges to members of the public to encourage them to think about their consumption and the impact it has on wastefulness, and will offer simple tips on how householders can reduce their waste arisings.

Fearnley-Whittingstall has previously campaigned on food waste, and launched the ‘Fish Fight’ campaign in 2010 in an attempt to raise awareness of, and crack down on, the practice of discarding unwanted fish at sea to avoid quotas on the number of fish that can be landed. (The campaign has been credited with helping the European Commission come to its decision last year to ban the practice in Europe.)

He commented: “I’ve been itching to take on the issue of waste for a while now, and to be given the opportunity to do so on BBC One is just brilliant. It’s a scandal how much perfectly good food and brand new clothing are being thrown away, and how much unnecessary packaging is being dumped in landfill.

“As ever, I hope we can make compelling shows that change the way people think and how things are done. Big businesses have been skirting around this issue for a while now, and it’s time for them to face up to their responsibilities.”

‘Tackling environmental problems that everybody can help to solve’

BBC One Controller Charlotte Moore commented: “I’m delighted to welcome Hugh to BBC One and am really thrilled he’ll be presenting this series next year. Waste is an increasingly important issue and one I know Hugh is passionate about and I’m sure his series will really strike a chord with our audiences.”

The programme will be managed by Keo Films and produced by Keo founder and Creative Director Andrew Palmer. Keo has said it will consult with food waste campaigner Tristram Stuart on the subject of food waste.

Debbie Manners, Keo Films’ Managing Director, said that ‘Waste’ was a “fantastic project for Keo and for Hugh” and noted Fearnley-Whittingstall’s “fantastic track record in tackling environmental problems that everybody can help to solve”.

She added: “It’s the ‘everybody’ in this story that makes this such a perfect subject for BBC One”.

Find out more about Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Fish Fight campaign, or the problem of food waste.

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