Easy Ways to Reduce Food Waste at Home

Food Waste: What Can We Do?

  Since 2007 we have managed to decrease our household food waste, but it is still a big problem.

The Food Waste Problem

  WRAP, The Waste and Resources Action Programme, conducted research into food waste in the UK and found that:

In 2018 we threw away 6.6 million tonnes of household food waste annually, compared to 8.1 million tonnes in 2007, a reduction of 18%

Of the 6.6 million tonnes, 70% was food that could have been eaten

Only 39% of us make a strong link between wasted food and climate change – if food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases due to production, harvesting, transporting, and packing. It generates 3.3 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (National Geographic 2015)

69% of UK households have heard or seen something about food waste (WRAP 2020)

Food Waste as a Social Issue

  Food waste isn’t just an environmental issue though. Globally an estimated 805 million people go to bed hungry (National Geographic 2015) so the fact that food going in the bin that could be nourishing someone else is also a social issue. 

We Can Change This!

  Love Food Hate Waste is a campaign to help us save food and minimise our wastage.

WRAP’s study also showed that recognition of the campaign rose from 15% in November 2018 to 22% in May 2019

67% of people who have seen the campaign have gone on to have a conversation about food waste (WRAP 2019)

Tips to Reduce Food Waste

  Love Food Hate Waste has huge amounts of information and suggestions of how to reduce food waste, including storing food correctly to lengthen it’s shelf life and recipe suggestions for leftover food. 

More Simple Ways to Reduce Food Waste at Home

  We also have a few of our own:

Putting leftover fruit and veg in soups or smoothies – it doesn’t matter if they are a bit squishy or wrinkly as they will be blended up and no one will notice!

Plan your food shop by recipes – this way you will only buy what you need

Donate your leftover food to a community fridge – search online to see if you have one near you, or search for one here 

Food waste apps – There are so many apps out there to help reduce food waste. Two we know of are Olio, an app where you can search for, or advertise left over food items in your local area, and the other is Too Good To Go, an app where supermarkets, restaurants and cafes can advertise leftover food that can be bought by bulk for cheap. Who knows what you might come home with!

Composting – if you have a garden you can prevent food waste from reaching landfill and benefit your plants! BBC Good Food have some tips here

Give leftover fruit and veg to your pets, or neighbours’ pets – Small pets like rabbits, guinea pigs or hamsters love nothing more than finishing up fruit or veg that may have gone in the bin. If you’re unsure whether your food is suitable, please do check online first. 

Quick & Easy Chia Seed Jam

Ingredients:

Chia seeds

Any fruit of your choice (berries work best)

Method:

1. Mash fruit and heat gently for a couple of minutes.

2. Add chia seeds (2 tablespoons per 200g fruit).

3. Let sit a few minutes until thickened.

4. Place into sterilised jar and refrigerate.

5. Use within a week.

References

National Geographic 2015 – The Global Food Waste Scandal

WRAP 2019 – Food Waste Trends Survey

WRAP 2020 – Food Waste Key Facts