Waste minimisation refers to the efforts we should all make to minimise waste, in other words to make sure we don’t create it in the first place.
Food Waste
East Riding of Yorkshire Council are supporting the Yorkshire and the Humber ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ campaign; the ‘waste not want not’ of the modern day. Research shows that each month, the average family throws away £50 worth of good food that was bought but not eaten. An astonishing 8.3 million tonnes of food is thrown away by households in the UK every year and 5.3 million tonnes of this is perfectly good food that could have been eaten. That’s like filling 4,700 Olympic sized swimming pools with food!
This is also bad for the environment. If every household stopped wasting food that could have been eaten, the CO2 impact would be the same as taking 1 in 4 cars off the road.
How can you cut down on food waste?
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Plan menus – save time and money by planning your meals for the week.Write a shopping list - by checking your store cupboard, fridge and freezer, you can plan your shopping and only buy what you need.
- Try not to be unnecessarily tempted by ‘buy one get one free’ deals and other offers. They may look like good value but very often end up being thrown away when they are not used in time
- By using our fridges and freezers more we can all keep food fresh for longer. This also includes cooked food and prepared meals.
- Food can be eaten right up to a ‘sell-by’ date or frozen. ‘Best before’ dates are for quality so there's no need to throw out food on that date – eggs being the exception, always stick to this date.
- Get creative with leftovers to save money and make what you have in the fridge go further.
Explore www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for exciting recipes to use up your leftovers and for information on getting the most out of your freezer. You'll also find a portion calculator to cook the right amount of food for yourself and others at mealtimes to avoid cooking too much food. The site has a handy menu planner and shopping list templates which you can download.
In partnership with the regional campaign, we are offering residents the chance to be entered into the draw to win cookery lessons, organic hampers and recipe books. All you need to do is make a pledge as to how you aim to reduce your food waste. Just click on the link below to enter and tick the box which describes how you will waste less food and save money! The competition closes on the 30th November 2010.
Make a pledge
Tips for reducing other waste include:
- When buying food and drink, keep in mind your local recycling facilities, like avoiding food in plastics that can’t go into your blue recycling bin, such as meat trays
- Save more money by taking your own shopping bags
- Buy food and other goods with the minimum packaging or grow some of your own fruit and vegetables, or buy from local farm shops and farmers markets
- If you must throw away an item check if it can be recycled through the East Riding’s blue bin scheme, local bring sites or at the household waste recycling sites
- If you are taking material to a recycling centre by car, don't make it a special journey: double it up with another errand such as the grocery shopping
- Almost a third of what we throw away is organic, such as vegetable peelings and garden rubbish. Home composting allows you to make compost, which you can use to grow your own food
- Try to buy products made from recycled materials, such as bin bags and toilet rolls. The more demand there is for recycled products, the more manufacturers are likely to produce.
For more smart shopping tips, click on the smart shopping guide link below:
View smart shoppers guide.
