This subject is one I feel passionate about! Perhaps it is coming (originally from Africa) where there are many people living on the streets, or even working in homes etc who are not able to feed themselves properly, go hungry. This has left me with a deep inbred feeling of not wasting food. I used to keep all food that might not be able to be used to give out to children/people on the streets. So in asnwer to your questions:
Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
All food leftovers (banana peels, vegetable peelings, scrapings from plates) go into the food caddy. This is mostly food that does need to go into the recycling food bin.
Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
Yes. This is done weekly, and we are also given those bio-degradable bags to use in the food bins. I keep mine in the kitchen, and when full, empty into the garden/food waste general bin outside.
What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
These are sometimes child related. Serving up for my duaghter, and or her friends, i might need to throw away what they dont eat. I do try and get portions right for children, but could be accused at times of serving too much, and therefore having to ditch some of the food. We have a small fridge, and sometimes food gets "lost", and I find a wilted cucumber / potatoes growing alien like objects out of their heads, and these need to be ditched. Sometimes life gets in teh way, we have some food that could be eaten, and then might not be at home for two days dinner in a row and it is no longer edible.
Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
I would say it is a mixtgure. Asd mentioned it might be cooked bits that are uneaten on plates / and food that sometimes goes off. Sometimes fruit bought at the market doesnt last long, and on a particularly hot week I might find that strawberries or grapes have gone off and need to be thrown away.
If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
We eat it! I try to cook food in order of what is in the fridge. MAke a note what there is, and then cook around that so that it is used up. Every third or fourth night i merely recycle everything in the fridge that needs eating and am not too worried about hte combinations, but dont cook more food until it is eaten. I try to be aware of "sell by/use by dates" of food in the fridge so be aware of what needs to be eaten. Buy more frequently fresh veg and fruit so that it doesnt go off by having too much. Smaller more frequent online shops help me with this.
How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
As mentioned in the answer above, i just serve it all at once - all the bits and pieces and we eat that for a meal to make use of what there is. So there might be a small portion of pasta / a small or half portion of bolognaise / some potatoes etc etc, these are all used. I often make something like a big bolonaise and throw all bits of food that need to be eaten into it - any veg on its last legs, and bits of anything esle!
Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
Just to be conscious of what I already have (fresh and de frosted) and to buy consciously what is needed.
Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
I think once again my answer remains the same
Did you know that tea bags can be put into your local council food waste collection (if you have one) or composted at home?
Yes, and we do this regularly