Did you know that 1/3 of the food produced worldwide gets tossed out in the trash? Nearly half of this food waste comes from household kitchens and when it ends up in landfills it creates Methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more dangerous than carbon dioxide. If food waste was a country, it would be the world’s third worst creator of greenhouse gases after the USA and China.
Composting instead of of trashing organic waste definitely helps to solve the problem of creating methane however over 62% of composted food actually could have been eaten – which wastes all of the water, energy, labour, fuel, packaging and money that went into getting that food to you in the first place!
Here’s how to avoid food waste at home and get started tackling climate change from your own kitchen!
Create an area in your fridge for items that should be used right away and check there first when deciding what to eat.
Make sure you have storage containers on hand, simply wash and reuse those empty margarine tubs, jam jars and other food packaging. Label leftovers with contents and date. Knowing what you have is the key to using it up!
Try not to pile up and bury items in your fridge and freezer. If you can’t see it, you won’t use it until it’s too late.
Choose one night of the week to use up leftovers and check package dates – Fridge Friday is fab!
Shop with a list and a budget. A lot of food waste results from impulse buying perishable items that we aren’t quite sure how we’ll use but seem like a great deal at the time.
Be realistic when shopping and don’t go for those perishable bulk buys if you honestly won’t use them on time.
Check through your cupboards and pantry for non-perishable items that can be paired with fresh ingredients before you go shopping and buy only what you need to create those meals.
Plan your meals by the day or week and try to include an item or two from the fridge that should be used up.
To keep foods fresher longer your fridge should be set below 5°C and your freezer below -18°C.
Store carrots and fresh herbs like flowers, stored upright in water.
Be sure to refrigerate apples and other fruits to keep them crisp and yummy for up to 2 weeks longer than when stored in a fruit bowl on the counter.
Rinse fresh berries in a 1 part vinegar + 3 parts water mixture then dry them to prevent then from getting moldy in the fridge.
Store food in the right area of the fridge to keep it fresher longer:
Want more food waste tips and tricks? Let me know in a comment below!
Since returning to Canada I am constantly shocked at what is tossed in trash. Average households throw textiles, furniture and food into the garbage without a second thought. Education is key to solving this which is why I continue to work so hard creating informative & entertaining content for free but I can’t tackle it alone and absolutely need to have my fellow anti-waste warriors share my content to help convince others that small lifestyle changes really can make a difference.
Grab all of my fab tutorials + budget friendly sustainable lifestyle tips and eco-living tricks here then transform your entire wardrobe for pennies with all of my groovy CoaR tutorial collections right here:
