• How can I recycle?
  • at work (+)
  • in schools (+)
  • in the garden (+)
  • in the home
    • Reusable Bag for Life
    • Buy Recycled
    • Become a Recycling Champion in your area
    • Love Food, Hate Waste
    • Join a local Freecycle group
    • Donate your old furniture for reuse
    • Stop unwanted junk mail
    • Your guide to real nappies
    • What happens to Plastic Bottles?
    • Your local Household Waste Recycling Centre
    • Recycling Where I Live
    • Sizzling Summer recipe tips
    • Recycling your electrical and electronic items

Love Food, Hate Waste

Most of us don't realise the amount of food we throw away.

• 6.7 million tonnes of food is thrown away by households in the UK every year, or, to put it another way, around a third of all the food we buy end up being thrown away, and most of it could have been eaten.
• If we stopped wasting food which could have been eaten, it would have the same impact on carbon emissions as taking 1 in 5 cars off UK roads.

The food we waste ends up in landfill where it rots and releases methane, a damaging greenhouse gas which contributes to climate change.

It's not just environmental damage that is caused. By reducing your food waste you can also save yourself time & money. In the UK we buy and then waste around £10billion on food every year.

The good news is that there are a few quick and easy things we can all do to
reduce the amount of food we throw away:

• Combine leftovers from previous meals with fresh ingredients to create delicious meals.
• Cook a large dish and then divide into portions to freeze for another day, great for days when you will be busy or home late.
• Check what's at the back of your fridge and cupboards before shopping and keep an eye on 'Use by' and 'Best before' dates.
• Buy your fruit and vegetables loose so you can buy exactly how much you need. This will reduce packaging also.
• Invest in storage containers and bag clips for resealing bags. After opening packets of dried foods such as cereals, rice, flour and pasta, reseal them tightly or transfer them into storage boxes or jars.
• Take time to plan your meals for the week ahead. You'll find it much easier when you are food shopping if you have your meals in mind.
• Packs of meat and fish can be separated into smaller pieces for the freezer so you can take out the right amount you need.

For sizzling summer recipes to help you reduce your food waste click here

To let us know where you have heard about the campaign, click here.

For more ways to love food and reduce our food waste visit lovefoodhatewaste.com.

Some food waste in inevitable, but items like peelings, egg shells and tea bags can be composted to create valuable home compost for your garden. For more on composting visit our composting pages.