NOW CLOSED Share your views on food waste for CarrieMumsnet and Unilever UK and you could win £100 cash

[KatieBMumsnet]

CarrieMumsnet is talking about the issue of food waste at an event hosted by Unilever UK soon and she'd love to get your views on the topic.

Here's what Unilever UK says about food waste:
"At Unilever, thinking sustainably is at the heart of everything we do. Now we're working hard with WRAP (Waste and Resource Action Programme) and other organisations across the UK to help people to reduce the amount of food they dispose of. After all, throwing away food wastes money and it's bad for the environment too.
"According to recent research we've commissioned with the Fabian Society, the most trusted source of information about reducing food waste is our friends and family. People listed food going off too quickly, throwing away leftovers and cooking too much food in the first place as the key reasons why they waste food. We'd love to get your thoughts."

On 1st November, our Mumsnet co-founder, Carrie Longton, is going to be joining a number of influencers and experts in the world of sustainability to speak at a morning of debate and insight on the subject of food waste, hosted by Unilever UK.
Here are some questions to get you started - all views welcome:

• Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
• How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
• Did you know that tea bags can be put into your local council food waste collection (if you have one) or composted at home?

Everyone who adds their comments to this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive £100 cash.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
We throw a little bit away, mainly because the amount the kids will eat is unpredictable. Cooked food waste goes in the general waste bin. Things like veg peelings/tea bags/coffee grounds go in the kitchen caddy then into the compost bin.

Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
No

What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
Usually it's because the kids haven't eaten as much as they do on other days. Occasionally stuff goes out of date.

Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
Into the general waste it's more cooked food. We sometimes have to chuck (uncooked) veg/salad stuff away but that can go in the compost bin. I try to use it up before it goes off though by making soup.

If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
Make soup from leftovers. Make the right amount of food for the people who are eating and/or use leftovers the next day. We buy similar stuff each week so I tend to know it'll get used.

How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
I don't know. I think we try to do this already. If we've made more than enough chili, for example, I'll keep the rest for the next day's lunch/tea.

Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
Use leftover veg to make soup (can be frozen)

Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
Do supermarket shopping online - less temptation to just pick stuff up because you fancy it or because it's cheaper than normal.

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, we put them in the compost bin.

Do you throw away much food at home? No - the odd bit of salad and a few leftovers though v few*
Where does the food waste go? Bin
Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin? No
Does your local council offer a food waste collection service? No*
What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away? Sad salad!*
Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food? The odd bit of cooked (although dp is a human dustbin) and the odd bit of salad*
If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum? I have a dp with hollow legs!*
How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin? Bubble and squeak and soup both good*
Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food? Buy less salad!*
Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food? Make a big pan of vege soup with the last of the leeks, carrots, celery etc and add lentils and barley for cheap nutrients*
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 but we don't do composting and no local council collection*

We have a Worm Cafe - food gets put in there for the worms to turn into lovely compost. Any food that the worms don't like (onion skins, citrus) we put in a compost bin.

I try very hard not to over buy food and plan meals around using up what is in the fridge before buying more.

I do take the point that offering collection of food waste may encourage people to waste but it would also help those without gardens to feel as though they are doing their bit as they don't have the option of composting.

I was brought up to use my nose rather than check a date on food, although I will admit I am more careful with what I give to my 7 month old. If I am at all worried about the date on the food I may eat it but wouldn't give it to her - that will come once she is a little older. For now all her food is in date.

• Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?

Food waste goes in the bin - it's a good way to keep track of how much there is and try to minimise it.

• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?

No.

• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?

Item is no longer edible (mould, rot or just too many days of sitting in the fridge uneaten), or the remains of the children's dinners if unfinished.

• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?

Mainly uncooked.

• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?

I have 3 freezers, so tend to freeze anything I am not using immediately. Any sad looking vegetables get turned into soup, which is frozen in single portions if not used on the same day.

• How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?

We throw away very little food. If I had more time to cook,then I would be able to use the occasional cabbage/beetroot/pak choi/veg-box challenge that gets missed at the back of the fridge.

• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?

Make soup and vegetable stews and invest in a huge freezer! With 3 adults and 3 dcs in the house, there isn't much left at the end of the week to go to waste, but I guess we could also get a dog.....!

• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?

As above: soup, stews and freezer. I don't buy much meat or fish, and tend to freeze it immediately if it isn't cooked that day; cooked meat doesn't last long enough in our house to be thrown away!

• 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, but we don't have one.

Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
We throw away more than I would like, I would say about average. Sometimes packs of meat/part used jars that are out of date. Very rarely throw away veg.

• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
  Yes it does, and it supplies the kitchen caddy

• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
  Gone bad to the point of being inedible

• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
  Mainly uncooked.

• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum? Using things up in soups etc and freezing.

• How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin? Planning better so everything gets used. Main thing I throw away is packs of meat that go out of date, so better organisation needed.

• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food? Being more rigid in meal planning.

• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food? Use up all leftovers in soups/stews etc and freeze.

• 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

• Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?

Usually not very much, but more over the past couple of weeks because we've had a round of D&V in the house and stuff hasn't been getting eaten. I do try to compost waste veg where possible.

• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?

No

• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?

If it's gone off or is freezer burnt. If a child refuses to eat.

• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?

Equal

• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?

Make a shopping list. Use my freezer where possible. Make plans to use "leftovers" rather than leave it to chance, but otherwise I don't cook more than I need
.

• How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?

If it's half eaten, I wouldn't.

• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?

Shopping list & at least rough meal plans. Use the freezer more.

• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?

Cook in bulk and freeze some. If you can't buy veg you need for just a few days, buy as fresh and local as possible. Cabbage, carrots and butternut squash are cheap and have a good fridge life. Homegrown veg lasts longer than veg that's come halfway around the world.

• 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, I compost them when I'm actively composting, though some have plastic mesh bags which don't decompose.

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 waste goes into our compost heap for the pleasure of the wildlife and a year later onto the veg garden
Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
NO
What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
Peelings, a few leftovers, ends of bread
Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
cooked
If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
Cook from scratch what we need, make stews with leftovers, do not buy what we do not plan to eat
How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
More stew
Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
Buy less.
Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
Buy less, buy ingredients, plan meals
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. As can all kitchen towels, till receipts, other soft paper, loo roll tubes, egg boxes.

Our family of four throw away 1/4 of a wheelie bin a week. and REcycle half a wheelie bin.

REDUCE
REUSE
RECYCLE

We try really hard not to waste food and don't take much notice of sell by dates either to prevent waste. We have waste disposal in our sink which we use to prevent the bins from smelling but as we don't waste a lot of food we don't have to use it much! Our local council doesn't offer a food waste collection service, in fact i have never heard of it before but it sounds like a good idea although it may increase food waste as a collection service might seem like its acceptable to waste food? We don't like to waste food mainly due to wasting money but we also don't like thought of food waste attracting rats, mice etc let a lone the increased waste in the country. It varies if our food is uncooked or cooked, if something uncooked is mouldy then we will chuck it out but the only cooked food we chuck is leftover dinners which is very rare as 99% of the time we leave clean plates! We manage to keep waste to a minimum by buying less food and by planning our meals before we do a shop so we dont have any leftover food in the fridge/cupboards. There is no was we would make the most of our food which we would put in the bin as we don't throw food out unless it has mould on! Apart from as i said before about planning our weekly meals before you shop i dont have any other tips for wasting less food. Where money saving tips are concerned we buy a lot of everyday value items from Tescos so where people would usually be tempted by brands promotions eg, BOGOF we opt to buy shops own brands and save money whilst we do it plus we don't have extra of the products we brought which may have been thrown away. I didn't know of any other way to dispose of tea bags until today, we use our waste disposal.

• Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin? Yes we do throw away a little bit of food but usually only what people haven't eaten at their meals so not a huge amount. I confess I do just throw it in the bin. I try and only cook what we need and if I have extra portions I either freeze them or take a meal over to my nan who always greatly appreciates it. I tend to show to what we need in meal plans to minimalist waste.
• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service? Yes it's a brown bag and we can put food waste and any recycling in it, they collect it fortnightly. We have too much recycling to go in the bag and food waste in a brown bag sat for two weeks equals a soggy brown bag leaking everywhere - not nice!
• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away? We throw away food that is left overs off people's plates and there is no way to judge this with two small children and occassionally anything that hasn't been eaten from fridge but this is not very often as we tend to be good at eatting it all! I throw it away rather than recycle for two reasons the first being we get provided by the council with a brown paper bag which just isn't adequate for food waste disposal and secondly because we live in a rented house and so having a composter isn't really an option we can do, sadly!
• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food? Mix of both, usually cooked like left over dinner, sandwich crusts, tea bags and bits that I cut off the raw chicken before cooking.
• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum? We do throw some away but we do keep it to a minimum by when I over cook I take the extra meal over to another family member close by for them to have for dinner the following day. We also buy to a meal plan so on the whole we only buy what we will use. I find it extremely frustrating when I have to throw away fresh fruit from the supermarket because it's moldly when it's new.
• How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin? I would love a composter and eventually when we hopefully have our wn house rather than renting that is my plan.
• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food? Dish up different size portions per person, it's better to have seconds than to serve up too much.
• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food? Meal planning and buying your meal plan works really well for us. I buy online which helps with organizing it in this way and I also have some things I do with particular left overs like making chicken stock with bones, making soup with random end of life veg, croutons with stale bread or bread and butter pudding. Some of these older type tricks have been lost because we don't have to be as resourceful anymore!
• 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

Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?

A fair bit. Having children does seem to encourage waste, though we do encourage him to only take what he can eat. Cooked food waste in the bin. Veg waste straight in the compost dalek. Have several caddys but they all stink before we manage to fill them, the bags decompose too fast so you can't lift it out, and so we just use whichever veg bag (like potato bags) or mushroom box was finished last to put the compostables in, and when it's full, I take it down the garden.

Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
HAHAHAHAHA! sorry, they do paper and glass, that's it. Foil, plastics and everything else we have to take away ourselves. And we recycle everything that's not nailed down.

What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
It's gone furry.

Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
Mostly cooked (uncooked veg > compost, uncooked meat doesn't tend to get thrown as my raving carnivore DH eats anything meaty well before sell-by dates.

If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
Don't buy new unless we have run out.

How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
I do try and remember to look for things like growing potatoes in the cupboard, and use them in stews or something. Ditto rubbery carrots and slightly yellowing broccoli.

Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
Tricky, from a feminist viewpoint. There used to be less waste because women used to shop daily and cook fresh, and not much was stored unless pickled, preserved or dried. I think at some point in a weekend, the family, however made up, should together try to decide what to eat and prep as much as possible before freezing.
That way there's less to do of a weekday evening, and helps us working mums (whatever our work!)

Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
Don't have a full freezer. Keep one drawer fairly empty, and if there's leftovers, shove them in. Put a portion of food in tubs (eg old plastic takeaway ones, as they are an efficient use of space) and put straight in the fridge to cool before eating a meal. That way, if anyone's still hungry, they can reheat a portion, but if not, once cold it's straight into the freezer.

Did you know that tea bags can be put into your local council food waste collection (if you have one) or composted at home?
Yup. Composted those for years. Technically you shouldn't if you put milk in while the teabag is still in the mug.

• Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
  Probably throw away more than we should, but not that much. Food waste goes into one of the many compost bins in the garden (we must have at least 10 by now!)

• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
  No

• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
  It's going mouldy.

• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
  Mainly uncooked, veg from the garden that I've not been able to use in time.

• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
  Use things up in soups, stews, stocks and cakes (eg banana bread). If there's too much bread it gets frozen or given to the hens.

• How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
  Use it, preserve it (pickles, freezer) or give to the hens.

• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
  Buy less. Sort out a better systerm of preserving crops from the garden.

• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
  Learn to preserve foods. Buy another freezer. Bake and soupify.

• 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

Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
Kitchen Caddy ? no compost bin. Throw away one small bag a week, left over food, peelings, scraping from plates, teabags, egg shells, bones etc and what seems like one solitary yoghurt each week

• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service? Yes ? weekly. We have to supply our own liners for the caddy
• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away? Scrapings off plates and peelings etc
• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food? 50/50 ? all goes into the same caddy
• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum? I have a son who seems to still be growing ? he eats everything? seriously
• How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin? Eat it!
• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food? Meal plan
• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food? Meal Plan
• Did you know that tea bags can be put into your local council food waste collection (if you have one) or composted at home? Yup and egg shells

• Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
  We throw away very little. Ends of carrots etc go to the guinea pigs all other uncooked veg matter, tea bags go in the compost.

• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
  No

• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
  Its mostly bones and trimmed off fat, or if we have served too much and its not in a fit state to save,

• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
  cooked

• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
  I'm a bit brutal with soups and eating leftovers for lunch.

• 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 above. Theres also those cone thingys for digesting cooked food but they are expensive and I'm not sure where I would site it.

• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
  Recently I've decided that serving less food on the plate is the way to go. If Ive overcooked its fine for lunch, if not and people are hungry its time for pudding.

• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?

• 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. I put mine under my rather healthy and large camellia. it loves tea.

• Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?

I throw away very little food full stop. Any food that I do throw goes in the normal bin.

• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?

My council does offer this but not currently in the area I live in.

• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?

Only in extreme cases will I actually throw away food. It would have to be actually mouldy or inedible!

• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?

uncooked generally.

• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?

I only buy and cook what we will actually eat. I only cook things that I know DS will eat. I will use any leftovers - for dinner the next night or for a packed lunch. I make soup out of anything I can. I just do not like throwing out perfectly good food that a) I have paid for and b) has been produced, transported, wrapped etc.

• How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?

I would say that I already do this as I throw so little away.

• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?

Meal plan, check dates when buying things like milk, yogurts etc - choose the longest dated ones so that they will keep as long as possible, freeze milk, cheese yogurts, use common sense rather than use by dates - children's yogurts are so full of sugar that they do not seem to ever go off (if in doubt I eat it myself rather than giving it to a child!), use a serving dish and give small portions so that people can ask for more, rather than leaving food on the plate that becomes waste (any untouched food can be kept), keep bread in freezer and use as you go so that it does not end up going mouldy,

• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?

Buy things like children's yogurts in bulk and store in the freezer, take them out in the morning to put in the packed lunch as they defrost by lunch time (frubes are good for this so I stock up and buy 10 or more boxes when they are £1), keep left over pasta and make a pasta bake, use left overs (such as pizza, cold sausages etc) in packed lunches, do not adhere to use by dates - use your common sense!

• 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

Do you throw away much food at home?
Very Little.

Where does the food waste go?
Cooked food in the general waste. Peelings etc in the compost bin down the garden.
Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
Yes, a bowl in the kitchen which is emptied into a bucket outside and then when I go down the garden I tip it in the compost bin.
* Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
No. They used to accept raw fruit and veg waste and tea bags in the brown waste for recycling but we are no longer allowed to do that. Infuriates me.
* What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
Peelings. Trimmed fat, leftover veg because I've cooked too much. Often I save and reuse it but not always.
Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
Uncooked peelings.
* If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
We eat a lot. Greedy teenage boys in house.
How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
Make more soup, I tend to do that more in winter than summer.

Did you know that tea bags can be put into your local council food waste collection (if you have one) or composted at home?
Not ours they can't. I do compost them at home.

Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go?
uncooked in the compost, cooked in the bin
Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
yes
Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
No,
What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
Cooked food that hasn't been eaten or food past use by date
Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
Mostly cooked food.
If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
We stick to a meal planner.
How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
Compsot or feed to animals
Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
buy more frequently , just whats needed
Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
menu plan and use freezer
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.

I hate wasting food, it is a waste of my money.

• Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?

Some, less more recently as I cook smaller portions. I also buy less vegetables and salad, and replace only when I need it, rather than a large internet shop, with a weekly supply of vegetables some of which went off or were binned before they were used.
Somehow buying les vegetables and salad seems wrong though.

• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
  You must be joking.

• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
  Mainly if the children don't eat it all. They are all under six, and what will fill them up one day will be far to much the next, ann then not enough the next time.

• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
  Manily cooked.

• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
  Council cut waste collection to every two weeks. We bought a compost bin and all fruit/vegetable peeling, tea bags etc go in there.

• How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
  Swap my children for a less fickle set. Also, some vegetables go off if the kitchen is too warm, the occasional squidgy potato gets chucked which seems a crime

• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
  Serve less. I love cooking so that everyone has enough and then more, but it's not economical.

• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
  Compost, stews, purees, probably all said before. Only buy when you need it. Meal plan. Boring but worth it.

• 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 to latter.

Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
I end up with more food waste than I would like, despite being careful (filled my 23 litre caddy this week with 5 Alina paper bags full of waste).

Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
Yes, has done for about 3 years.

What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
Kids leaving dinners. Forgetting I have something at the back of the fridge. Fruit that isn't 'ripe & ready' despite claiming that it is! Peelings/inedible leftovers.

Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
cooked or inedible

If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
Extra food is frozen or kept for lunch the next day. I don't take notice of use-by dates, if it looks & smells OK I will use it. I re-use leftovers in omlettes, sandwiches, soups, salads etc

How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
Be more organised about using odd bits up before they're past their best. Don't buy fruit unless I know its good!

Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
Make a list of available meals/ingredients so that you can see at a glance what you have, so you're less likely to leave things to go off. Have standby recipes for banana loaf, milkshakes, soups etc so that its obvious what to do with leftovers when you get them. I regularly make the same soups, puddings and smoothies to use up the same things that often get left.

Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
I buy reduced bread and freeze it. Hardly ever buy it full price and rarely throw it away as I only get out what I need.

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, I compost tea bags, coffee grounds and all food waste.

Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?

No, we dont. I am careful with portion sizes and only cook what I think we will eat. We have a food caddy.

Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?

Yes.

What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?

If it is mouldy

Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?

Uncooked, bread crusts, peelings etc.

If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?

By being careful with portion sizes and not cooking too much in the first place. I also dont buy more until we have eaten what we have got.

How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?

To compost the veggies, give birds some more.

Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?

Meal planning - use the freezer more - dont cook too much!

Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?

Chicken or other raw meat is put straight into the freezer and taken out before being needed. Meal planning and using the freezer more are the answer here.

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, all shredded paper is re-used by our hamster for his bedding Mixed half and half with paper towel is his favourite!

• Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?

No, I don't throw away a lot. We are a family of four and we usually struggle to fill a black bin bag everyweek. Food waste goes in the bin. No we don't have a caddy/compost bin.

• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?

No but I believe it is running a trial at the moment in some areas of my town.

• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?

Kids didn't finish their food. Something got pushed to the back of the fridge and overlooked.

• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?

Mixture of both.

• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?

I serve small portions of food. If you want more then you can go back for seconds but I never load up the plate in the first place. Whatever is left goes into the fridge and is eaten the next day. I also go shopping every two or three days, so I never buy huge amounts of food (which I find hard to manage and plan for). I also make sure I use up leftovers in soups, stews, risotto etc and I have a range of ideas for pretty much every potential leftover e.g. leftover potato gets mashed with any other cold veg, formed into circles, topped with grated cheese and pepper and baked.

• How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?

The only stuff that gets put in the bin is food the kids had on their plate and didn't finish and also rotten stuff.

• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?

Buy less, meal plan, shop more regularly and locally if you can, eat your leftovers the next day.

• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?

See previous answer.

• Did you know that tea bags can be put into your local council food waste collection (if you have one) or composted at home?

No, but I don't really drink tea so its not something I think about.

• Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin? I menu plan so really dont throw very much away - anything that cant be re-used in lunches, frozen for another time, feeds the dog, feeds the worms goes into a food waste bin.
• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service? yes
• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away? change of plans - eg plan to make A - something else comes up - but generally i put extra veg etc in the slow cooker and make soup. bread is probably the biggest waste in our house.
• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food? cooked
• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum? batch cooking, freezing, having 2 teenagers and a hungry husband, dog, menu planning - and sticking to it, freezing little bits of leftovers for the baby.
• How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin? I would love to know how to manage bread waste better.
• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food? soups, casseroles etc are agreat way of using up extra veg - and they can be frozen - i couldnt live without a freezer.
• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food? Menu planning and shopping list.
• 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 the worms love them!

• Do you throw away much food at home? Less and less. We meal plan now and I have become militant about not buying fresh bread every day if there's half a loaf of yesterday's still in the breadbin. Also, the guinea pigs now eat veg peelings and stalks.

Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
Yes we have both. Council provides a food caddy and we have our own compost bin. For ease, most food waste ends up in the council caddy, and garden waste in the compost.

• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
  Yes, once a week.

• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
  Used to be excess bread, mouldy fruit and veg. Now I am meal planning, this has hugely decreased.

• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
  Bit of both - usually tea bags, potato peelings, bread crusts in summer when the birds don't eat them, and meat bones.

• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
  Bread crusts to birds
  Veg peelings to guinea pigs.
  Left over hot food goes into DC's food flasks for next day's packed lunch, or frozen then we have a left overs night when everyone has a different meal from the freezer - quite popular with DC!
  Bread ends get turned into breadcrumbs and used for goujons.
  Don't buy tat. We no longer buy loads of yoghurts or biscuits without thinking about when they might get eaten. I only buy them if we plan to have them for a specific occasion.

• How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?

Well, I'd love to get chickens or a pig but DH says no!

Perhaps, as well as planning menus, I could plan cooking sessions. I tend to cook for that day or maybe a batch ahead, but don't often spot, say that we have too many oranges or apples, and that if they're not cooked they'll go off.

• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?

Use a measuring scoop for rice, cereal and pasta. This means we don't over eat and we don't have bits left over - healthier and more economical too.

Buy wide necked flasks (about £3 in supermarket) and give DC hot food leftovers for packed lunch - very popular.

Plan a leftovers night once a week. If you leave it longer than that no one fancies that weird looking bit of stew or fish from whenever, but if they still remember eating and enjoying it recently, they'll bag it for leftovers night. Treat it as a restaurant, where they get to choose the menu from a list.

If bread is stale, make toast with soup or welsh rarebit for lunch instead of sandwiches. Just decide to use stuff up, instead of wasting it.

• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?

Plan not just evening meals but breakfasts and lunches, even after school snacks. Only buy for those. Buy nothing 'just in case.' That has taken £30 off my weekly bill and we no longer seem unable to fit our weekly rubbish in the bin.

Be more like your parents: say we can't buy/open a new packet of cereal/juice until the old ones are used up. Overnight, I no longer have 8 different breakfast cereals turning stale 3/4 full, or four different juices fermenting in the fridge door.

Put slightly staler veg into soups, overripe bananas into banana smoothies, very overripe bananas into banana breads or muffins.

If there's one rather dubious looking chicken breast or white fish portion lurking in the back of the freezer, cook it and give it to the cat.

• 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 - our food caddie's full of them!

Do you throw away much food at home? Try not to but there's always something - usually fruit/veg that goes past it

Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin? we have compost bin

• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service? - Yes but we don't use it

• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away? - gone off

• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food? - uncooked

• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum? - Try to meal plan

• How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin? not buy so much of it in the first place

• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food? meal plan

• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food? only in meal planning - it really does cut down

• 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 i do

Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
Actually throw very little food away at home - cooked food (meat) goes in the dogs bowl, cooked potatoes, veg, pasta etc to chickens. Veg peeling are used for guinea pigs or cooked up into mash for pigs (bacon ones!) Have a kitchen caddy which is stuffed in the back of the shed somewhere.

Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
Yes on a weekly basis but out of 12 properties in our lane only one uses the service.

What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
Kids not eating dinner or a bit too mush made but not enough to use for another meal.

Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
Mainly cooked.

If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
I meal plan every week and only buy what I need. Anything which is close to use by is frozen or cooked and then frozen. Any leftover food is re-used in the next meal or frozen eg using cooked veg for bubble and squeak or making stock from chicken carcass.

How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
tbh I think we are doing as good a job as we can but then we are lucky in that we have animals that can make use of waste food.

Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
Meal plan and batch cook for the freezer.

Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
only but what you need and shop online then you aren't tempted to stray from your shopping list.

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 but I soak mine in Olbas oil and put them on the veg patch to keep the cats from using it as a toilet!

• Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?

We do throw away a lot more than I would like. Cooked food, cheese, etc goes to the chickens (including scraps off plates, etc), veg goes into the compost, anything else gets binned. We do have a compost heap, we also have a kitchen caddy but it is a PITA to clean so I tend just to take a bowl/bag straight out to the heap. One top tip though - never put egg shells in compost unless you have a hermetically sealed composter - rats find them irresistable.

• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?

No, and neither are they likely to - it's a very rural area where wheelie bins would be completely impractical (lots of houses have their bags collected by small trucks as the big ones can't get down the lanes) and really there is not much excuse for people not composting at home.

• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?

Food lost forgotten in the fridge - I am no great respecter of "best before" dates, though, so things only get thrown out if they look/smell off.

• Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?

I don't really count feeding stuff to the chickens as throwing it away, so the stuff which gets composted/binned is mostly uncooked.

• If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?

little chicken-shaped recyclers

• How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?

To all of the above - it's about being organised. On weeks when I shop with a meal plan, and/or when we have an "eat the fridge/freezer" week when the DC can choose whatever they like as long as we already have all the ingredients, we spend a lot less and throw away almost nothing. On weeks when things go wrong, or I am just generally disorganised and staggering through, we spend a lot more and waste a lot more.

• 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 - not that we drink a lot of tea, but tea bags do get composted.