Give FOOD WASTE the chop

The upstream carbon cost of this uneaten food is huge. It’s estimated that if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases after the US and China, with this uneaten food responsible for 8% of global emissions1

Rethinking how we shop and cook means it’s easy to reduce this waste – and allow householders to save up to £720 a year, according to WRAP2

• Storing food in the best way can keep items fresher for longer. Checking the temperature of your fridge (4 degrees) and freezer (-18 degrees) is a quick win, as is using air-tight containers for extending the usable life of many items.

It sounds quite a small step, especially as many of us believe we create minimal food waste, but eating our food is more impactful than buying solar panels or electric vehicles. In fact, it features in no less than 4 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

WasteAware, the waste partnership of all councils across Hertfordshire, have been researching this topic in detail for the last 2 years, and have developed a simple 4-step plan for reducing food waste. Why? Their primary research from analysis of resident bin waste showed that 24% of the average household’s bin was food that could have been eaten – not eggshells and peelings, but edible food.

This fact is shocking enough, but what the team also found is that we’re not just talking fridge leftovers and soggy carrots, but large amounts of food in it’s prime. They saw discarded items that were still in peak condition even after being disposed of, transferred into the collecting vehicle and tipped onto the floor. Shiny tomatoes, spring onions in bunches, complete loaves of delicious soft bread, huge chunks of cheese, meat and veg. All grown (or reared), processed, packaged, transported, bought, taken home… and dumped.

In fact, figures show that 50-70% of all the food we throw away could have been eaten.

Keep in touch

• Planning your meals based on what ingredients you have available can be a gamechanger. There are several webpages and apps which offer meals based on an available item. Checking inventory before going shopping is a key step, as many of us buy items habitually without checking what we already have available first, leading to duplication and waste. Choosing recipes which use ingredients that need eating first.

• Shopping from a list can reduce the cost per shop by £11 as you’re more likely to stay on track and not get swayed by tempting offers or additional items… which, if unplanned, might be more at risk of being thrown away.

• Eating what you have sounds obvious, but often the abundance of food means we are trying to manage more than we can use. Planning portion sizes means cooking just what we can eat. Adapting meals to use whichever items are on hand or planning in a ‘use up day’ to put available items in a soup/curry/omelette/ pasta sauce.

An easy way to share these messages with staff is to include a link to the #WorthSaving campaign in your bulletin, newsletter, or intranet. Contact the #WorthSaving team via the webpage, www.wasteaware.org.uk/worthsaving to request posters, leaflets, adverts, or to book a talk on this or other waste-related content. Several companies have borrowed the events kit, including games, banners, recipe cards, giveaways and display items, for stalls in high-footfall areas – get in touch to discuss your requirements.

1 How cutting your food waste can help the climateBBC Future

2 Saving money On Food | Love Food Hate Waste -WRAP 2023

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