Reducing Food Waste at Home

Planning perfection

Planning is the best way to save money on the weekly shop while cutting waste and helping the planet. 

There are three simple steps to follow:

• Write a meal plan
• Check what you have in the fridge, freezer and cupboards then write a shopping list
• Only buy what you need - stick to the list!

How to write a meal plan:

How to write a shopping list:

Savvy storage

The way we store food has the potential to extend its useable lifespan massively.

Three important things to keep in mind are:

• Keep dried goods like pasta, cereal and crisps airtight to make them last longer
• Freeze foods in handy portions - make sure you label them (Find out more about foods you can freeze here)
• Check storage instructions on food - lots of packaging is specially designed to make food last longer

Love your leftovers

Leftovers are made up of fabulous food that you have bought and made into great meals so why wouldn't you use them up.

There are three ways to make your leftovers work for you:

• Leftovers make great, tasty meals in a flash and are fabulous for an easy tea in a hurry
• Store them in the right portions for you - it could be single portions for lunch or a bigger portion to get tea on the table for the whole family in a flash
• Many commonly leftover foods can be used to easily make tasty new dishes, get creative in the kitchen and if you need a little inspiration just visit Love Food Hate Waste for some great recipe ideas

Salad, lettuce and leafy greens

Salad, lettuce and leafy greens are some of our most commonly wasted foods - In the UK households spend over £400million a year on lettuce and leafy greens that get thrown away

Our top tips to cut down on salad waste:

• Be a packaging pro - Check packaging for tips on how to best keep your salad, lettuce and leafy greens
• Lock up your lettuce - Put lettuce and leafy greens in plastic box with a lid (or zipped sandwich bag) with a piece of kitchen paper - this works well for bagged salad too
• Treasure your tomatoes - Tomatoes keep fresher for longer in their original packaging in the fridge or can be frozen and used in placed of chopped tomatoes
• Cucumber keeps best when stood with the stalk end in small container of water in the fridge door - if not make sure you keep your cucumber in its plastic wrap - this will keep if fresher for up to an extra week
• Radishes rock - Radishes keep fresh for weeks, just remove the leaves and roots and pop them in a jar of cold water in the fridge
• Make salad like a master - use up all your leftover odds and ends like small amounts of cooked meats or fish, cheese, nuts, fruit or leftover pasta to make a fabulous salad

Find out more about using up salad here.

Fruit and veg

Fruit and veg are some of our most commonly wasted foods - the average UK houshold wastes nearly £100 a year on fruit, veg and salad that isn't used up in time!

Our top tips to cut down on fruit and veg waste:

• Fridge fantastic - most fruit and veg keeps better, for longer when stored in the fridge - except bananas, pineapples and potatoes - check the packaging for storage suggestions
• Ditch the fruit bowl - If you prefer to eat fruit at room temperature just put 1 or 2 pieces in the fruit bowl and keep the rest in the fridge
• Perfect peppers for longer - Once cut, peppers keep best with the seeds and stalk still attached and stored in a sealed tub or bag
• Banish the bananas - Bananas release a gas that speeds up the rate that nearby food ripens so make sure they are stored apart from other fruit
• Care for your carrots - Carrots keep best in the fridge in their original packaging but if they get a bit wobbly just trim the top and bottom and stand them in a glass of water for 30 minutes or so to firm up