Food
Food · Skill 05 of 05

Reduce Food Waste

Households throw away a large share of what they buy. A few habits recover most of it.

Companion

The cheapest food in your house is the food you already bought.

What You'll Need
  • A container for scraps
    Standard
    A freezer bag or tub kept in the freezer for stock scraps.
    Low cost
    Any resealable bag.
    Already have
    An empty ice cream tub or bread bag.
  • Somewhere visible for 'use first'
    Standard
    A labelled bin on an eye-level fridge shelf.
    Low cost
    A cheap plastic tray.
    Already have
    A cleared-off shelf with a piece of tape marked USE FIRST.
Safety

Reducing waste never overrides food safety. Mould on soft foods, cooked rice left out overnight, and anything past a 'use by' date goes in the bin. Cutting mould off soft food doesn't remove it.

Step By Step
  1. 01Shop your kitchen before the storeLook in the fridge, freezer and pantry and write down what needs using. Plan two meals around that before you write the shopping list.
  2. 02Build a USE FIRST zoneOne shelf at eye level for anything close to turning. If it's visible, it gets eaten; buried at the back, it gets binned.
  3. 03Understand the dates'Best before' is about quality — much food is fine well past it. 'Use by' is about safety and should be respected. Trust your eyes and nose on the first, not the second.
  4. 04Freeze before, not afterFreeze bread, milk, cheese, herbs in oil, and cooked meals while they're still good. Overripe bananas freeze whole for baking; wilting herbs freeze in ice cube trays.
  5. 05Cook the odds and endsSoup, fried rice, frittata and pasta bakes exist to absorb leftovers. Keep a freezer bag of vegetable scraps and bones, and make stock when it's full.
  6. 06Track it for one weekNote everything you throw away for seven days. Almost everyone finds one repeating item — usually bagged salad, bread or milk — and fixing that single habit is most of the win.
Worth Knowing
  • Store herbs like flowers — stems in a jar of water in the fridge. They last a week or two longer.
  • Your pantry list in this app is the fastest way to see what you already own before you shop.