How To Reduce Your Food Waste

Think before throwing

Get this! The U.K chucks out 250,000 tonnes of edible food annually. That’s a crazy amount of unnecessary rubbish and resources wasted. We’re shocked by the sheer scale of it. 

Individually, of course, we’re not creating that vast number. But if we start to limit our trash then hopefully, we shrink things down together. By now most of us are thinking about ways we can reduce our global footprint. How about starting with something simple, yet really effective; limiting household waste.

 

Let’s get started!

 

1. Planning ahead. Nerd alert - I LOVE doing this and it only takes about 10 - 20 minutes of my time. 

Write down your meals for the week ahead and use the ingredients to form your shopping list. If possible, buy online and organise for pick-up. 

I make sure I purchase my fruit and veggies separately, to reduce plastic wrapping waste. 

It’s even better when you can find a local farmer that does food delivery (or offers pick-up points.) Not only do you directly support farmers, but generally they pop everything in a cardboard box.

Check out apps like ’No Waste’ to help with meal planning too.

 

2. Cook in bulk / Freeze your food:  

Ok, there are times when I have ordered Uber Eats and kept the plastic containers the food has

come in. These are great to reuse for leftovers or meals you cook in bulk to store for later. Bananas, which are a little far gone for example; can be chopped up and frozen in a container. They make a tasty addition to any fruit smoothie. 

Any leftovers should not be chucked out. I know life can get in the way, but if you know you’re not going to eat your leftovers, you can freeze ‘em. It’s even better when you have nothing planned for dinner and boom; there’s a pre-prepared frozen meal ready to go. You can also….

 

3. Repurpose your food:  

Leftover veggie scraps: Think stock or soup. Or you can take up pickling: Good for the gut and tastes delish. That’s a win/win. 

Leftover veggies or even a bit of fruit go great as pizza toppings or as an additional ingredient in baking. 

Check out Olio: A site that connects neighbours and volunteers with local businesses to share food. It’s a cool way to meet like-minded people.

 

4. Composting: 

Now, if you are like me and you're lucky that your local government has composting options then great! But unfortunately, this isn’t always the case, particularly for many households in apartment blocks. So here are some further options:

• Try indoor composting - mini worm farms, Bokashi (uses bacteria to ferment food scraps), urban composters. 
• Seek out local community gardens who will be happy to take your food scraps.

Check out apps like ’ShareWaste’ to help you connect with local community members who will take your food scraps (another great way to meet people in your local community). 

Our Moon mission is to promote the use of reusable products to help improve the health of the planet and everyone on it. You can join the reusable revolution by purchasing a Moon Reusable product here