Food waste

How to reduce your food waste. Advice on food storage solutions, portion planning, recipe ideas and cutting down on all your food waste.

Food is not rubbish

The food we waste accounts for more global greenhouse emissions then all the commercial flights in the world. The amount of food waste thrown in the bin each year costs the nation a staggering £6 billion. This has a huge environmental impact, if we stopped wasting food in the UK, it would be the same as taking one in four cars off the road. The greenhouse gas emissions produced are staggering and to put this into perspective if food waste was a country, it would be the third biggest contributor of CO2. This is due to the process of growing, making, distributing, storing and cooking our food. This uses lots of energy, fuel and water (not to mention the hard work, love and care!).

70% of the food that is wasted in the UK is wasted by residents in their homes. The average household in the UK, with children, spends around £60 a month on food that is never eaten. That’s around £700 a year!

We want to provide our residents with some top tips to save money and help North Lincolnshire work towards a greener future.

Money Saving Tip One: Plan! Plan! Plan!

Planning like a pro is one of the simplest ways to ensure you only buy what you need and prevent food from going to waste. Planning also means a reduced food bill, so here is some top planning guidance to save you and your family pounds.

Check those cupboards, the fridge and the freezer. Before you even start that list, check what you already have in. Most households always have enough food in the back of the cupboard they can make a meal from.

Meal plan like a pro. Helpful hints, tips and guidance to help you get the greatest value from your food, making sure it’s eaten and saved from the bin.

Write that shopping list. Try to stick to a list when doing your shopping. Keep a pen and pad in the kitchen to jot things down when you run out or add to a list on your phone. Use your meal plans to make the list and save those pounds.

Look for smaller and split packs. Buying food in split packs and freezing half is great for reducing food waste. Some products also now come in a smaller pack, ensuring you use the whole pack and none of it goes in the bin.

Money Saving Tip Two: Understand the dates

Knowing your dates is another fantastic way to ensure that food is not wasted unnecessarily.

Use by dates. Use by dates are found on perishable foods that could make you ill if you do not eat them in time. However, most foods with a use by date can be frozen. If you know you are not going to use the item by the date, then freeze it and keep it frozen until you need it.

Best Before date. A best before dates refers to the quality of the food rather than the food safety. If the item looks and smells okay, then it is usually ok to eat it after the best before date.

Money Saving Tip Three: Know your portion sizes

It is important to get to know what portions are right for you and your family, and then stick to it. It is extremely easy to cook too much or too little but using weighing scales can really help you save some money and reduce the amount of cooked food you throw away.

Did you know you can use your hand to estimate portion sizes?

Fingertip – A fingertip is equal to one teaspoon, a great guide for butter or mayonnaise.

Thumb – A thumb is equal to two tablespoons, this is great for peanut butter.

Palm –  A palm is equal to three ounces, which is an average portion of protein of red meat or chicken.

Cupped hand – A cupped hand is equal to half a cup or one ounce, it can be used for a portion of snacks such as dried fruit and nuts.

Fist – A fist is equal to one cup, used this to portion rice, fruit or vegetables.

Alternatively use this free and helpful portion planner. The portion planner will calculate the exact amount of each ingredient you need for you and your family. Food Portion Calculator | Love Food Hate Waste.

Money Saving Tip Four: Store it right

Storing food, the right way is one of the best ways to help your food last longer and taste better, in turn saving you money.

Check your fridge temperature. Having your fridge set at the correct temperature can make your food last up to three days longer. Use the Chill the Fridge Out to input your fridge and see what temperature your fridge should be set at.

Where do I store my food? If you are unsure on where to store your food use the A-Z food storage guide.

Money Saving Tip Five: Freeze your food

One of the most important things to know is that you can freeze pretty much anything. Look out for and buy food with the snowflake symbol on the packaging. It is a great way to ensure that food never needs to be wasted, if you are not going to eat it in time just pop it in the freezer.

Batch cooking. Cook a big batch of your favourite meals, divide them up, freeze ready for another quick dinner another time.

Not sure how to freeze certain food? See the food freezing top tips What foods can I freeze? | Good Food

What can I do with unavoidable food waste?

Any food waste that we cannot ‘compleat’ (eggshells, tea bags, banana skins), can be composted, visit our Home Composting webpage to find out more.

Apps to help you manage your food waste at home

Nowaste

Nowaste is an app with an AI assistant. It allows users to discover the next level of food waste with an assistant. Tell the assistant what you want to do, and it’ll help you out. You can ask for help on creating shopping lists, recipes and an inventory for your food.

Kitche

The Kitche app is designed to help you save money and reduce food waste. Users can keep track of what they have at home and find tasty recipes. The app lets users import products and receive reminders of when to use them, search through recipes, track how much C02, water and money they have saved and earn rewards.

Apps that are helping to reduce food waste

Too Good to Go

Too Good to Go is an app which allows businesses to sell off any stock in “magic bags” that would be going to waste. These bags are available for users to purchase at a discounted rate. Ensuring food waste is minimised and helping residents to access discounted foods.

Olio

Don’t buy it, or bin it Olio it! You can use the app to give and get items locally. Users can add an item and set a pickup location, receive messages from other users to collect the items, or request new free items from other users for collections, knowing you have helped someone local and the planet.