A third of everything in people's household bins, on average, is food waste, with Australians sending over 5.3 million tonnes of food waste to landfill every year.
You can help reduce food waste by meal planning, using leftovers, and composting rather than putting scraps in landfill.

- Clean Up Australia

Wowsers… according to the Rabobank Food Waste report Aussies are wasting more food than ever. Almost 1 in every 5 bags of groceries ends up in landfill according to this report.
Madness.
In landfill foodwaste anaerobically decomposes, expelling methane – a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide to the atmosphere!

You probably didn’t even realise that you hold the power to change this. Yep, little ol’ you!
By making 1 or 2 changes to the way you use your scraps, leftovers, and out of date food you can save so much more than just landfill space.

If food waste was a country it would be the 3rd largest greenhouse gas emitter.
It takes 250km3 (that’s cubic kilometers) of water to grow just the food that is being wasted, that’s 500 times the capacity of Sydney Harbour every year.
Six soccer fields are deforested every minute to grow food that is being put in the bin.
This rate of land clearance is putting 28,000 animal species at risk of extinction within the next 25 years.

Ah, but what can I do about this? I’m just one person.

These 3 simple, easy, and planet-loving tips can help you reduce your food waste going to…. well, waste.

Compost, Worm Farming, Green Waste Bins or Share Waste.
Meal Planning and Shopping Savvy
Use your leftovers

Compost, Worm Farming or Share Waste

Let’s start with Share Waste - it’s freaking amazing and FREE.
Share Waste connect people who want to recycle their kitchen scraps with their neighbours who are already composting, worm-farming, or keep chickens. Now you can stop sending waste to landfill… and did we mention it’s FREE?
There are home gardeners, people with chickens, compost lovers throughout every state and territory. Sign up and get in contact with them.
www.sharewaste.com

Composting is best for those with some space to have a compost bin or a compost pile/pit and are also going to be adding garden waste.
Items will compost faster is they are chopped into smaller pieces.
Mixing and turning your compost is important as it gets air into the compost. It is recommended to manually aerate (mix or turn) your pile at least once or twice a week. The easiest way to ensure all the compost pile is being turned is to use a compost tumbler.
You can then use the compost as a soil booster for your plants.

Worm farming is perfect for those with limited space, you don’t have any garden waste (like leaves or lawn cuttings) and if you have a smaller amount of food scraps.
These worm farms from Composta are a snazzy way to grow your own plants or veggies straight from the worm farm.

Don’t forget your Green Waste bin (if you have one). Your food scraps & garden waste can go straight in.

Meal Planning & Shopping Savvy

Ah, it sounds so boring…but meal planning will not only save you from food waste but it will save you CASH $$$.
If you normally head out to do your shopping weekly then take 5 minutes and plan out your upcoming meals before you head to the store.
Check your cupboards and fridge, work out what you actually need to buy….is there a jar of basil already at the back of the cupboard?

45% of Aussies admit to over-buying at the shops. By taking a few minutes to work out what you really need for the week will save you from throwing out old or rotten food later.

You can download our FREE SHOPPING LIST and check out all our RECIPES to help you meal plan and prepare your shopping trip.

Use your leftovers

18.1% of Aussies have admitted to having eyes bigger than their bellies. Rather than throwing away your leftovers put them in an airtight container or a bowl with a beeswax wrap over the top (please no plastic!) and eat them the next day.

Did you know that throwing away a beef burger is equivalent to letting the shower run for 90 minutes?!
We consume the same amount of resources for each activity.

You can incorporate old fruit into your next meal…we love nothing more than throwing bruised fruit, wobbly celery stalks, and overripe bananas into a smoothie.
Or smash up your overripe fruit and mix it through some pancake mix.
Don’t forget to pack your leftover dinner for lunch the next day.

Join an Unpackaged DIY workshop to learn even more ways to help reduce plastic and single-use items, whilst also saving yourself time and money.
Check out our current workshops available here

Do you have any tips for reducing your food wastage?

Reduce Food Waste - and Save $$

A third of everything in people's household bins, on average, is food waste, with Australians sending over 5.3 million tonnes of food waste to landfill every year. You can help reduce food waste by meal planning, using leftovers, and composting rather than putting scraps in landfill.

If food waste was a country it would be the 3rd largest greenhouse gas emitter.

It takes 250km3 (that’s cubic kilometers) of water to grow just the food that is being wasted, that’s 500 times the capacity of Sydney Harbour every year.

Six soccer fields are deforested every minute to grow food that is being put in the bin.

This rate of land clearance is putting 28,000 animal species at risk of extinction within the next 25 years.