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Top tips to help stop food waste in your home.

Himani Jog,

Food waste includes food meant for eating that never reaches us, like fruit and vegetables that don’t make it to the supermarket shelves, bread that the bakery doesn’t sell, or food that gets thrown away by cafes and restaurants.

While a large chunk of food waste is from hospitality venues and supermarkets, there is also a lot that comes from our home kitchens.

Food waste and the planet

Food that is thrown out mostly ends up in landfill. This food doesn’t break down properly, which means it decays, rots and releases gases that affect the air quality. When food is wasted, so are the resources used to grow our food: that is water, soil, and energy, as well as the time used to prepare, pack and transport the food (also known as food miles).

Reducing food waste at home

Each year, 2.5 million tonnes of food is wasted in WA, which adds up to approximately 210 kgs of food from each household. This waste of food also results in a waste of money, with some families spending up to $2500 annually on food that ends up thrown away.

The good news is there are lots of ways to avoid household food waste, while also saving money and helping the planet. Here are our top tips to reduce food waste at home.

Meal plan

  • Plan your weekly meals.
  • Use leftovers creatively - choose a day to whip up a fruit muffin, fritters or a simple fried rice and use up the last few fresh ingredients in the fridge.

Shop smart  

  • Shop using a list (and stick to it).
  • Check the fridge, freezer, and pantry to see what you already have before heading out.
  • Purchase the right amount of fresh food for the week.
  • Rotate the food when unpacking the shopping so you know what to use up first.

Cook only what you need

  • Check who will be eating before you cook a meal.
  • Plate up smaller serves and encourage people to dish more if needed.

 Be savvy with leftovers

  • Freeze leftovers for another meal.
  • Check best before dates and eat the oldest food first.
  • Be creative and find recipes to turn leftovers into a new meal (or just enjoy the same meal two nights in a row!).

Compost to reduce landfill

  • Use food organic and garden organic (fogo) bins if available in your area.
  • Start a compost bin in your backyard.

Try some of our tasty recipes to use up your leftover fruit and vegetables.

Spanish Couscous
Banana Cake
Savoury pikelets

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