25/04/2024

Tips to stop food waste

It's the official Stop Food Waste Day on 26th April this year and we're right behind this initiative.

Climate change and the pressure on natural resources are key current concerns. Not only that, but many of us are now facing additional financial pressures on the household budget.

There's really only positive results for us all to try and reduce our food waste and we've got some handy tips to help.

UK Food waste statistics

According to The Eco Experts, the UK throws away 9.52 million tonnes of food per year. This emits 25 million tonnes of CO2e – more than Kenya’s total annual emissions. It's suggested that 1/3 of food produced globally goes to waste, that's an incredible 1.9 million tonnes every day.

WARP confirms UK households cause 70% of the UK’s food waste, throwing away 6.6 million tonnes of food, of which 4.5 million tonnes was edible.

Every week Brits waste £494 million on food. This is an astonishing amount and our money is literally going into the bin.

It doesn’t need to be like that though. There are plenty of ways in which we can reduce food waste. Here are our top tips on how:

Fridge etiquette

Your fridge should be between 0-5C. Food, especially milk, will go off much quicker if it’s warmer. Also, some foods keep better outside the fridge. This includes bread (keep it in a cool dark place like a bread bin or cupboard), bananas, pineapples, potatoes and onions.

Cook less food

If you’re finding you’re getting a lot of leftovers, don’t throw them out, most foods are often freezable so pop them into a Tupperware box and put them into a freezer to use for lunches or dinners at a later date.

If you find there’s a common issue with your child not eating their food, start introducing smaller portions and build up the more they eat and grow.

Plan your food shops

Before you go shopping make a list of what you want to eat for the week. Only buy products that you need for those meals. This’ll stop you from buying unnecessary items that will most likely go to waste. We’d advise going shopping when you’re not hungry – when you’re hungry you’re most likely to buy things you don’t necessarily need.

Make use of those veggies

Did you know vegetables are the most thrown away item? Keep the stems of vegetables such as broccoli, celery and asparagus in water to help them stay fresh and crisp, If your vegetables are starting to wilt and look a little bit sad, you can soak them in ice cold water for 5-10 minutes to help revive them. Or if they are past reviving, you can always use them up in a soup. You can also do the same for fruit that is starting to go past its use by date, pop them into a smoothie to avoid waste.

Alternatively you can buy frozen vegetables to keep in your freezer instead of fresh veg.

Check the use by date

When you return from your food shop, put items that need eating first at the front of the fridge so you don’t forget about them. Also check all of the sell by dates on your food and create meals from the ones that will go out of date first.

For even more tips, head to Love Food Hate Waste. If you follow the above then you’re most certainly well on your way to leading a waste free life. It doesn’t stop there either, you can find out how to create waste free lunches here.