Support the Love Food Hate
Waste campaign
In Falkirk, we throw away a whopping 18,500 tonnes of food every year, wasting a staggering £410 per household.
As well as reducing the volume of waste sent to landfill, reducing food waste also reduces the need to transport, store and prepare as much food and drink.
In Scotland if we stopped wasting food it would be the equivalent of taking one in four cars off the road.
The Love Food Hate Waste campaign focuses on four key areas to help reduce food waste: planning and preparation, storing food, recipe ideas and portioning.
Planning and preparation
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Take five minutes to think about what meals you are going to have during the week ahead.
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Check your cupboards and fridge/freezer to see what food you really need before you go shopping.
Storing food
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Get to know your food labels.
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'Use-by' dates appear on foods that can go off quickly, such as fish, meat and eggs.
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'Best before' dates tend to be about quality rather than safety and are used for foods that last longer, such as frozen, dried or tinned foods.
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Follow the storage instructions on food packs. This will tell you where to store it and how long it can be stored for.
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Rotate the food in your fridge, freezer and cupboard so you can see what needs to be used first.
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Your leftovers can also be frozen for another day.
Recipes
Portioning
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Buy loose fruit and vegetables so you can buy exactly what you need.
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Look out for smaller size options, for example half loaves of bread.
More information
Download 'Handy hints to reduce your food waste' (PDF, 163KB)| for more tips, or visit the Love Food Hate Waste website|.