Forgotten fruit, unloved leftovers, and long-expired dairy are ending up in bins up and down the country. Sound familiar? You aren’t alone.

In the UK, we waste an eye-watering 9.5 million tonnes of food every year. In fact, British households are throwing away enough food for 10.5 additional billion meals. We’re the biggest food wasters in Europe – that’s bad for our wallets and even worse for the planet.

Stop Food Waste Day is the largest single day of global action in the fight against food waste. To mark the day, we’ve pulled together five simple tips you can follow to start fighting food waste right now.

Reduce food waste by composting

Saving your scraps from landfill is one of the easiest ways to reduce food waste. Composting leftovers helps reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses by up to 50%. Even better, if you compost all your waste in your garden, the soil you make will actually suck CO2 right out of the atmosphere. Contact your local council to find out how you can get started.

 

Save and eat your leftovers

Leftovers big and small are always worth rescuing from the bin to reduce food waste (unless you’ve started composting, you star). Like the rest of your rubbish, landfilled leftovers will eventually create emissions, so why not tuck into them the day after? Eat them as a snack, combine them with your dinner or…

 

Reuse leftovers creatively

…give your leftovers a whole new lease on life. If you’re not into repeats, giving scraps a makeover is a quick and easy way to breathe life into them. Transform your roast into a sticky teriyaki rice bowl or turn stale loaves into a hearty British bread pudding. 

 

Store your food correctly

Marie Kondo your fridge to reduce food waste by keeping your ready-to-eat foods at the top, dairy in the middle, and raw meat at the bottom. Pop all your fresh fruit and veg in the drawers, and just like that, you’re a food waste-fighting machine. Check out our handy guides on how to keep herbs fresh and how to store your greens.

 

Plan your meals

Now, for the food waste-busting tip to rule them all — meal planning. Next time you head to the shops, check out your fridge before you fill your trolley. Buying only what we need and sticking to a shopping list will help to reduce food waste later down the line.

Better still, plan your meals with Gousto to reduce your weekly carbon emissions by a whopping 23%. With precise, pre-measured ingredients for every recipe, you’ll have a head start in your fight to reduce food waste with every box.

 

Stop Food Waste Day is the largest single day of action in the fight to reduce food waste. The brainchild of The Compass Group USA, Stop Food Waste Day was created to prevent food waste, inspire people into action, and encourage the repurposing of surplus food in the local community.

What is Gousto?

Dinner, but not as you know it. Our big red recipe boxes will help you whip up wholesome, impressive meals no matter your skill level, with all of the flavour and none of the fuss.

From everyday favourites and ten-minute meals to global cuisines and healthy choices, you’ll have over 75 recipes to choose from each week from our menu. We’ll send you step-by-step recipes and all the fresh ingredients you need too. Just pick what you fancy for dinner, and leave the planning to us.

---

Sources

Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP)

The Eco Experts

S.C.R.A.P Lab