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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.

 

Wasted food – the issue

The food we waste accounts for more global greenhouse emissions then all the commercial flights in the world. The process of growing, making, distributing, storing and cooking our food uses loads of energy, fuel and water (not to mention the hard work, love and care!).

To put it into perspective if food waste was a country, it would be the third biggest contributor of CO2 after China and USA.

70 per cent of the food that is wasted in the UK is wasted by residents in their own homes. That’s 4.5 million tonnes of food that could have been eaten being thrown away every year.

So, North Lincolnshire residents can make a big difference when it comes to the UK’s wasting food problem – the power is in your hands.

Remember: The best thing we can all do is to make sure the food that makes it to our plates is enjoyed. Anything that we can’t ‘compleat’ (egg shells, tea bags and banana skins might never be on the menu…) can be composted, or recycled if you have a food waste recycling service at home

The facts

Everything we throw away has an impact on our environment and contributes to climate change. Because it’s not just the food we’re wasting – it’s the resources that go into producing it that get wasted too.

Habits can be hard to change, but if each of us made a small change to the way we buy and use food, – eating that last slice of bread, or freezing that brown banana – we can change the amount we waste and all have a big impact, together. Each small act can add up to make a big difference. Check these facts on what’s really going into what’s on (or off) your plate, and how you can lessen the effects of climate change on the Out of Date website.

How are you doing?

Find out how your household’s current food wasting habits weigh up, and see if you’re a top banana, or whether it’s time to get cracking and start to be more eco-friendly. Take the quiz on the Out of Date website.

Take action

Together we can make a difference, use the following simple tips and tricks to make sure your bins stay empty and the planet healthy:

Did you know that the average UK fridge temperature is set too hot? This is bad news for our food, and our planet. Simply making sure that your fridge is set between 0 – 5°C can make your food last longer. The Love Food Hate Waste website – Chill the Fridge allows you to input your fridge make and it will tell you exactly what temperature to set it to.

Every day in the UK, 20 million slices of bread are thrown away. That’s more than half a loaf per person, per month. Discover tasty ideas that prove that toast is for life, not just for breakfast.

Did you know that you can freeze onion? And eggs, too? Read our tips and ideas on how and where to store your ingredients, leftovers and more – keeping it all fresher for longer. Great storage ideas on Love Food Hate Waste – storage ideas.

Too much? Too little? It can sometimes be hard to get our cooking quantities just right. Discover the UK’s best leftover recipes with a handy ingredient search tool – just pop in what you’ve got and see what you can rustle up on the Love Food Hate Waste -recipes website.

Poultry is one of the most wasted foods in the UK. But whether it’s frozen, raw or cooked, you can keep your chicken fresher for longer with these simple preservation hacks and storage tips.

Helping to resolve the problem of cooking too much – the Portion Planner will calculate the exact amount that you need of each ingredient for you and your family.