There are easy steps you can take to avoid creating food waste. From planning meals and storing food correctly to getting creative with your cooking – our food waste tips will help you save money and keep food waste out of landfill.

• Planning
• Shopping
• Perfecting portion sizes
• Cooking
• Using your leftovers
• Storing
• Composting and worm farming
• Growing your own food

Planning

Meal planning reduces the risk of over-purchasing food, so you spend and throw out less.

• Check what ingredients you already have and then plan meals and snacks with these ingredients.
• Plan to cook a double batch and freeze the extra portions for occasions when you don’t feel like cooking.
• Include a “leftovers lunch” or meal from your freezer in your meal plan.
• Choose meals that incorporate fruit and vegetables that are in season, as they are often fresher and less expensive.
• Consider using a meal planning and shopping list app from Sustainability Victoria.

Shopping

Shopping with a list (and sticking to it) makes you less likely to impulse purchase food you don’t need which ends up wasted at the end of the week.

• Prepare your list based on your meal plan.
• Group items on your shopping list.
• Avoid going shopping when you’re hungry.
• Only buy special deals if they fit into your meal plan or can be stored for later.
• Buy dry goods in bulk to save packaging if you have the room to store it correctly.
• Farmers markets can be a great source of fresh, seasonal produce.
• Consider using a meal planning and shopping list app from Sustainability Victoria.

Perfecting portion sizes

Cooking too much is one of the main reasons we waste food.

• Check who will be home for dinner before cooking.
• Read the serving size guidelines that are often included on packaging.
• Perfect your portion size with WRAPS’s food portion calculator.
• Use smaller plates so you aren’t tempted to serve too much – it’s better to go back for seconds than to throw a plateful of uneaten food in the bin.
• Let others serve themselves to reduce potential wastage.
• Save leftovers in the fridge or freezer for later.
• One palm-size of raw meat is usually about 85g, which is one serve.
• ½ cup of raw rice usually makes enough for 2 people.
• The hole in the pasta spoon fits about one serving of dried spaghetti.

Cooking

According to Sustainability Victoria, the wasted foods that have the greatest impact are apples, bread, cheese, meat, milk and tomatoes.

• Wasted meat is the biggest contributor to climate change. Reduce meat waste by getting your serving sizes right and freezing the excess. One palm-size of raw meat is usually about 85g, which is one serve.
• Cheese can be added to vegetables, frittatas, savoury scones, pasta, omelettes or nachos.
• Milk can be used in smoothies, pancakes and in cheese sauces.
• Store bread in the pantry out of direct sunlight and freeze the excess so it doesn't go stale.
• If you only usually get through half an apple, go halves with someone else, or stew the other half for later.
• Leftover tomatoes are very versatile and can be cooked up with oil and basil or used in curries, stews and pasta sauce.

Some parts of vegetables we normally throw out are edible and can add flavour and nutrition to your meals:

• Pumpkin skins: Keep them on and eat them roasted, or blend them up and include them in pumpkin soup.
• Broccoli stalks: These are great steamed or can be added to stir fries.
• Cauliflower leaves and stem: Delicious oven roasted with olive oil and spices.
• Carrot tops: Can be used to make pesto, chutney or salsa.
• Celery tops: Can be chopped up and added to salad or soup, or be used with other vegetable scraps to make stock.

Using your leftovers

With a bit of planning, you can save yourself time and money and reduce your environmental footprint by enjoying leftover ingredients and meals.

• Be creative! Try using ingredients you have at home if you don’t have the exact ones listed in the recipe.
• Eat every edible part of vegetables.
• Save leftover meals for tomorrow’s lunch or store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• Store leftovers at the front of the fridge at eye-level so they don’t get forgotten.
• Bring wilting celery and green leafy vegetables back to life by soaking them in ice-water for a few minutes.
• Create new meals and snacks from leftover ingredients and meals:
  • wilting greens can be added to soups
  • spaghetti bolognese is good in a pasta bake or pie filling
  • leftover vegetables can be made into a frittata or added to fried rice.
• Use the FoodWise or Love Food Hate Waste UK recipe finder to get recipe ideas for your leftover ingredients.

Storing

How we store our food can make a big difference to how long it will last.

• Store cooked food in sealed containers once it has stopped steaming, then place in fridge or freezer within 2 hours.
• Consider that ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ date labels mean different things. Read the Food Standards’ guide to these dates for more information.
• Store the oldest foods, including those approaching their ‘use-by date’ at the front of your fridge.
• Consider a ‘use-first’ shelf in your fridge to make sure you use any foods before they expire.
• Use a paper towel in containers of leafy greens to absorb excess moisture and help keep them fresher for longer.
• Keep fresh herbs in a glass of water to keep their roots hydrated and leaves fresh.
• Store raw meats, fish and poultry on the bottom shelf of your fridge (where it is coolest), and away from ready-to-eat food.
• Avoid overcrowding your fridge.
• Store leftovers in the freezer in a sealed container, bag or foil if they won’t be eaten within 2-3 days. We recommend storing them in single or family meal size portions.
• Store bread in the pantry out of direct sunlight and freeze the excess to stop it going stale.
• Read Sustainability Victoria’s storage guide for fresh produce to learn how to best store different food items.
• Transfer rice, flour, cereal, grains, nuts, sugar, and pastas from their packing into sealed containers and regularly clean shelves to reduce the risks of pests getting into them.
• Make sure your food is stored at the correct temperature – the fridge should be 3-4°C, the freezer -18°C and the pantry 10-21°C.
• Learn about preserving food, as this is a great way to enjoy seasonal produce all year round.

Composting and worm farming

Composting and worm farming can transform your food scraps into nourishment for your garden or pot plants.

Read our online guide to composting and worm farming to learn more, including which one is best for your household.

Growing your own food

Growing your own herbs, fruits and vegetables is a great way to save money and reduce food and packaging waste. It also reduces our ‘food miles’ and carbon footprint.

We run workshops on a variety of topics including small space gardening, beekeeping, composting and keeping chickens.

Visit our Growing food at home page to learn more.