Reduce your food waste

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UK households waste £12.5 billion of food yearly. This amount could fill the massive Wembley football stadium 9 times over. 

Love Food Hate Waste has lots of resources on saving food, money and the planet. 

Every day in the UK we throw away: 

  • 5 million sausages 
  • 8 million potatoes 
  • 4 million bananas 
  • 1 million eggs 

 

How much does food waste cost 

Producing, storing, transporting and cooking food uses a lot of energy and resources. This includes using water, animal feed, fossil fuels and packaging materials.  

When food waste is thrown away, there is a carbon cost in the collection and treatment process. One third of the food we buy, gets wasted. This waste contributes to Climate Change. 

This is most likely because:   

  • we buy too much 
  • cook too much 
  • serve too much  
  • don’t use food in time 

 

Changes you can make to your food shop

Small changes, one thing at a time, can result in big wins for our pocket and planet. 

Plan before you do a food shop  

Check your fridge, cupboard and freezer before shopping. Make a list and only buy the food that you'll use.  

Meal plan so you know how much food you need for the week. Include a freezer or store cupboard meal in your plans to go with other leftovers. 

 

Understanding dates 

Dates on labels can be confusing. This is what you need to know: 

  • ‘Use by’ means you shouldn’t consume any food or drink past this date  
  • ‘Best Before’ defines quality not safety as food can still be eaten after this date but it may not have the same taste or appearance as when you first bought it  
  • ‘Sell by’ and ‘Display until’ are guides for the shop, ignore these 

Know your food dates and always check the ‘Use by’ label when shopping. Choose items with longer dates so your food stays fresh for longer at home. 

Look out for yellow sticker items for quick savings but only buy them if you can use it quickly or freeze them in time. 

 

Changes you can make when at home  

Store your food appropriately 

Storing food properly can give your food days, weeks or months of extra life. In the UK, we pour 3.1 million glasses of milk down our sinks every day. 

You can: 

Don’t cook too much food  

Cook only what you need and freeze any extra so it’s ready for another day.  

Use the portion calculating tool to work out how much food your family needs. 

Use your leftovers  

Leftovers can be used for your next meal. Like taking them as lunch to work, to save money and reduce waste. 

Turn extra food into easy meals like soups, pizzas and pasta dishes. 

Love food hate waste has many tips and recipes you can try to help save food from being wasted. 

Donate your extra food 

Donate any extra food you won’t use to local food banks or share it with friends, family or neighbours so it doesn’t go to waste. 

Donate food, essential items or funds to the Redbridge Foodbank 

Get discounted food 

The Olio app allows you to share and collect surplus food for free, helping prevent good food from going to waste while connecting with people in your local community. 

Too Good to Go lets you buy a discounted mystery bag of surplus food from cafés, restaurants, and supermarkets. It’s usually worth around £10. 

Try home composting 

Composting turns food and garden waste into nutrient-rich soil for your garden. 

You’ll also see your rubbish shrink as you throw less food away. 

See more information on how to start home composting