How to reduce food waste at home

Making more of the food you buy not only cuts waste, it saves money and helps the planet. Did you know, around a third of the food we produce worldwide is lost or wasted? It accounts for 8-10% of manmade greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than aviation. In fact, if we all go one day without wasting food at home, it could have the same positive environmental impact as taking 14,000 cars off the road a year.

At Waitrose, we're supporting the government's food waste partner, WRAP, in its goal to halve household food waste by 2030, alongside our pledge to halve food waste in our supply chain by 2030. WRAP estimates that the average UK household can save £500 a year by cutting food waste, saving 4.5 million tonnes a year.

So what are we waiting for?

10 tips to cut food waste

Get started with these handy hints

1 Use your freezer as a storecupboard

Veg is frozen at the peak of freshness and having things like cauliflower, butternut squash, green beans, sweetcorn, spinach, peas and broad beans to hand will open up a world of mealtime possibilities. Find out what essentials our experts always have in their freezer.

2 Think before you bin

If you’re about to throw something away, think first if it can be put to another use. Will it go in stock? Can it be frozen? Can it be turned into the next day’s packed lunch?

1 Use your freezer as a storecupboard

2 Think before you bin

If you’re about to throw something away, think first if it can be put to another use. Will it go in stock? Can it be frozen? Can it be turned into the next day’s packed lunch?

3 Make a list...

...before you go shopping, and stick to it. This stops you buying things you don’t need (which are often the items that end up in the bin).

4 Plan your menu

Plan your menu for the week (or for the next few days). Don’t consider meals in isolation – think of how one meal will feed into the next and how you can employ your storecupboard and your freezer to reinvigorate leftovers. This 7-day menu written by the chef Ian Haste takes that approach.

5 Stock the storecupboard

Assemble a storecupboard of spices, herbs, cans and carbs to help turn today’s leftovers into tomorrow’s lunch. This midweek meal plan will help get you started.

6 Use your veg peelings

Making your own stock can use up loads of leftovers, from tired and wilted veg to carrot peelings and chicken carcasses, and will make a huge difference to the flavour of the food you cook.

7 Get the size right

Don’t overcompensate on portion size. It’s better to put on slightly less pasta or rice than you think you’ll need. Often, that extra bit you think you should add to the pot – just in case – is the bit that ends up in the bin.

6 Use your veg peelings

Making your own stock can use up loads of leftovers, from tired and wilted veg to carrot peelings and chicken carcasses, and will make a huge difference to the flavour of the food you cook.

7 Get the size right

8 Build in wiggle room

Plan at least one meal a week using tinned or frozen items, so if your plans change and you’re not going to be at home for dinner one evening, you won’t be wasting any fresh ingredients.

9 Store your food so it lasts

When you get your shopping home, make sure you store it appropriately. Even veg such as carrots keep longer in the fridge. Not using those chicken breasts for three days? Then pop them in the freezer.

10 Know your dates

You can safely ignore the ‘best-before’, ‘display-by’ and ‘sell-by’ dates on packaging. ‘Use-by’ is the only one you need. Find out more with this Love Food, Hate Waste guide.

Make your food go further with 100 kitchen hacks

Elly Curshen's No-Waste Recipes

The Waitrose Weekend columnist and zero-waste champion uses the whole cauliflower (leaves included!) in this soup, and potato peelings for oven-baked crisps. Click on the picture to see the recipes.