How to reduce food waste and save around £700 a year

According to a report from the eco experts, the average UK household wastes approximately £728 per year on food waste. That’s equivalent to 4.5 million tonnes of food that could have been eaten.

Reducing food waste at home might be easier than you think. Try our tips to help you throw less away and save money each year.

Tips to reduce food wastage at home

These easy ideas could help you drastically cut down how much of your food ends up in the bin:

1. Make a shopping list

Shopping lists make it easier to only buy what you need. So, check your cupboards and make a list each time you go shopping. Not only will this save unnecessary spending it will stop you from buying food you don’t need and wasting it.

2. Buy frozen fruit and veg

The quality of frozen fruit and veg is often just as good as fresh. It also tends to be cheaper and lasts much longer. As an added bonus, most frozen fruit and vegetables come ready to cook, so you won't need to spend as much time chopping and dicing.

3. Batch cooking

Cooking meals in large quantities is a great way to use up fresh food that you'd otherwise throw away. You can also freeze the leftovers to give yourself quick and easy meal options for busy days.

4. Keep food fresher for longer

If your food comes in plastic bags, like salad leaves, take them out of the bag and store them in containers lined with kitchen towel. This will help them last longer.

5. Arrange your cupboards and fridge

Rearranging your cupboards and fridge can help make sure you don't accidentally leave food to go out of date. Put the ingredients you need to use first near the front, or somewhere you'll see them. This way you won't forget about anything that's about to go off.

6. Know your "best before"s from your "use by"s

Food is usually still edible after its “best before” date, so check it before throwing it away. If an item has a “use by” date, however, you’ll need to consume it before this date.

Apps that can help you reduce food waste

Keeping track of all the ingredients in your kitchen and their expiry dates is a big task. These apps are free to download and use. And, they can help you reduce your food waste in an easy-to-manage way.

Kitche

Kitche is an app to help you reduce food waste in your home. It keeps track of the food you’ve got by scanning supermarket receipts and warning you when food is approaching its use-by date.

If you’re struggling to think about how to use some of your food, Kitche can suggest recipes based on the food you’ve got in. You can also use this app to track your own food waste, so you become more aware of how much you throw away and what it’s costing you.

No Waste

No Waste lets you keep an easy-to-access inventory of all the food you have at home. You can enter items manually or scan their barcodes. You can then list them by expiry date to see which items you need to use the soonest. Like Kitche, this app allows you to keep track of your own food wastage to help you become more aware of your habits.

Read our guide on batch cooking for more ways to save.