Love Food Hate Waste

Reducing food waste is great for your household budget and the planet.

UK households throw away £12.5 billion worth of good food and drink every year. This amount could fill the massive Wembley football stadium 9 times over.

Each day in the UK we throw away:

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

 

The carbon cost to cooking

Producing, storing, transporting and cooking food uses a lot of energy and resources (e.g. water, animal feed, fossil fuels, packaging materials). When food waste is collected for landfill or any other treatment, 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.

We buy too much, cook too much, serve too much and don’t use things in time.

 

 Wasting food: It’s out of date

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

This is how you can make a start or go further in loving food and hating waste:

 

Plan ahead

• Check your cupboard, fridge or freezer before going shopping
• Check what family and visitors will and will not eat (no point in 500 sprouts if no one will eat them!)
• Meal plan
• Make a shopping list
• Include a freezer or store cupboard meal in your plans to go with other leftovers
• BOGOF and end of day bargains are great as long as you make sure you use them. Freeze or share with family and friends if you end up with too much.
• Use the resources at Love Food Hate Waste to learn more.

 

Understanding dates

Dates on labels can cause a stir. This is what you need to know:

‘Use by’ you shouldn’t consume any food or drink past this date

‘Best Before’ defines quality not safety

‘Sell by’ and ‘Display until’ are guides for the shop, ignore these.

 

Storage savvy

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.

• Check your fridge is below 5 degrees to keep perishables fresher for longer.
• Get to grips with just how much you can freeze and use your freezer more
• Check how to store everything from A-Z

 

Get portions right

Take away the guesswork and save yourself a few pounds at the same time.

Use the portion calculating tool to measure your pasta like a pro!

 

Love your leftovers

Rustle up a quick pizza on a pitta, perk up a pasta dish and soup your lunch with what’s already in your fridge.

A range of tips, tools and recipes from chefs to home cooks will give you a whole new range of ideas to try.

 

Home compost

The natural process that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for your garden.

Be amazed by how much your bin bags shrink when you start home composting.