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

We have very little food waste. Years of budget shopping and planning - I do find those on more frugal budgets waste less food.

I don't go by dates on anything. I have potatoes from June in my fridge still good. I know brands that last well - kingsmill for instance lasts three or four days longer than hovis. Bread and cheese have been used with small green bits picked off. Half eaten snacks get wrapped in foil for another day. Smaller portions are dished up to save waste. I use my freezer a lot, extra portions are frozen as are half loaves if not used. I shop weekly and budget and plan.

I hate food waste. We have good recycling here, but mainly plastic and card etc. My food waste goes in a black sack - and one black sack lasts all week with other non recyclables in too.

Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go?
We don't throw much food away. Any food waste gets thrown into the kitchen waste bin.

Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
Yes but we don't currently use it.

Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
Yes.

What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
Cooking too much and not being able to freeze the leftovers (Either because I have already dished it out or it was a portion of food that had already come out of the freezer.)

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.
I buy fresh food, and on that day or the next, use it all, cooking a variety of meals which will be frozen for the coming week.

How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
It could be composted, put in the brown bin that the council provides us. (However, we have had a major fox undermining problem recently. We are unsure if we have got rid of them entirely. I fear leaving out 'scaps' in compost bin might encourage them back or something worse will start residing in the garden. A hole has previously been gnawed into one 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?
Shop on a regular basis (not ideal for everyone) or make more use of a 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?
No.

Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin? There is not much cooked waste food in my house. It's more scraps that can't be eaten, like food skins or peelings. And teabags and egg shells*
Does your local council offer a food waste collection service? Yes*
What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?not edible*
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? put smaller amounts of food on plates and opportunities for seconds, rather than waste. Anything not eaten can then be and is frozen*
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 applicable.*
Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food? Bread crusts and bread that have gone hard, I always cut into cubes, lightly bake and put in the freezer for croutons. Or turn into bread crumbs and freeze*
Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?As above*

• 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?

I throw away very little food and food waste. I have a Bokashi bin that most things go in...apart from onion peels as I have discovered that they make the bin smell extra vile so those go to landfill waste.

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

• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
  Uneaten leftovers or if I've been a bit lax at noticing when apples are going soft etc.

• 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?

Several things - I try to only buy what I need, especially fresh food. I check the fridge before I go shopping and make a list. I also keep an eye on what's in the fridge and fruit bowl and use things up. I have two freezers and use them a lot. Fruit and veg are cooked up and frozen ie. I stew fruit or make veg into soup. I turn ends of bread into crumbs and freeze. I keep bread in the freezer and take it out a few slices at a time as needed.

I also use "best before" dates purely as a guideline. I'd never throw anything away just because it had gone past that date. I use my common sense to judge if something is still edible.

• 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 think I'm doing as much as I can, to be honest. I could try cooking a little less but it can be hard sometimes ie. with noodles, one nest is not enough for me and DS but two are too many really and there's not much you can do with leftover noodles so they get Bokashied.

• 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! and meal plan. You don't have to be obsessive but at least have a rough idea that you'll use fresh ingredients soon after you've done the shopping, then use up freezer/store-cupboard towards the end of the week.

• 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 all my tea bags. They take forever to rot down though!

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

• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away? Past sell by date, gone off or child nota eaten it.

• 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?

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

• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food? Plan meals, make one pot meals, frozen veg.

• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food? Buy value brand frozen veg, make one pot meals that you can 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?
Don't throw away much, unless something gets forgotten at the back of the fridge. However, sometimes in the run up to Christmas I get a bit over ambitious with what I think I am going to have time to make and freeze ahead....
Meat waste goes in the bin and then into the general waste wheely bin. Vegetable/fruit waste goes into the kitchen compost caddy and then onto the compost heap in the garden or in to the trench in next year's legume's veg bed (over the winter, especially when I don't want to traipse up to the compost heap)

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

* What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
See above - either something at back of the fridge or over ambitious plans - but don't do that so often now

* 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?
Menu planning and/or totally ignoring Best Before dates and/or having a healthy disregard for Use By dates unless the food smells and/or has mould growing on it (although mould on cheddar can be scraped off )

* How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
Only ever throw away totally rotten food.

* Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
Teach people how to make follow-on meals from their "first" one. A roast can last all week if used imaginatively, eg roast lamb to cold lamb to a stir fry with chunks of lamb (have a lovely Elizabeth David recipe called Suleman's Pilaf) to shepherd's pie with lots of hidden veg. You could even make a soup with the bone.

* Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
Menu plan on a weekly basis with at least one non-meat meal made from store cupboard ingredients. That way, if your plans change during the week, there is nothing to go off - and you can juggle the other meals around.

* 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 - although we mostly use loose tea (and depending on the tea bags you use, you do get still wee partially composted "bags" in your compost heap, although the tea within them has composted)

Does your local council offer a food waste collection service? yes, we get a weekly collection. We have a small caddy for in the kitchen and a bigger one to put the waste in outside with a handle that locks it so that animals and birds can't get at it. We can get the biodegradable bags dropped off with the weekly collections or collect them from any library or council office - they're free.

What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away? food peelings are our main source of waste.

Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?. Mostly uncooked - see above. Any uneaten food from plates generally gets thrown out too but that's very little.

If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum? I meal plan carefully and tend to buy fruit and veg little and often to avoid waste. I also batch cook and freeze a lot so that I can make different size portions for adults and children.

How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin? it needs careful planning to avoid waste - buying regularly rather than in bulk for perishable items, freezing crumpets so that they can be used as needed rather than going mouldy.

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, ours go in!

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 throw lots of food out and it drives me mad. It tends to go in the bin as we live in a flat and have no compost bin... although I am going to start a mini one on our balcony for next year's chilli plants (I grow loads from seed this year)

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

What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
There's just DH and I and I often overcook, on the basis that he'll take the leftovers to work, then her forgets. Or we end up going out in the evening and a meal that I had planned doesn't get eaten. Frankly, it's mainly bad planning by the pair of us.

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

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

How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
Better use of the freezer, better forward planning

Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
Ummm...

Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
Use the freezer more often; freeze individual portions

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, they'll be the mainstay of next year's compost!

We pit food waste in to a caddy which then goes in to our garden/cardboard bin. Most of what goes in is peelings, tea bags, bones and a small amount of left overs. We keep waste to a minimum by meal planning so only buying what we need. I freeze as much as possible, if veg is looking passed its best I cook it then freeze it. Over ripe bananas are used in banana bread, I stew other fruit and purée it to add to yoghurt. As we have such a tight budget I hate to see food go to waste. Most of what goes in our recycling bins is the packaging.

Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
No. Any food waste goes in with normal rubbish.
We have a kitchen caddy which used to be under the sink but we got mice so I stopped using it. I used to have a garden compost bin but found it was too much work tbh.

Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
Yes, for raw and cooked food.

What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
Not meal planning strictly enough and unexpected offers (rare!) to eat out or have a takeaway - and those portion sizes are usually far too big, causing waste in itself.

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?
By only buying fresh food as it's needed, rather than a regular shop for fruit & veg.

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 use it in veggie recipes, soup, fruit pies - but working ft makes this a bit difficult - I often take leftovers to work for lunch.

Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
Just commonsense really, menu plan, buy what you need, use up leftovers, freeze surplus.

Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
Buy loose fruit & veg and only what you know will be eaten. Clean out fridge regularly so food doesn't get wasted by leaving it too long. Watch portion sizes, it's so easy to put too much food onto plates thinking it will all be eaten.

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 council food/garden waste bin came with a full list of compostable foods.

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

I think we throw away quite a bit, but there is no way its anything like the £400 I've seen quoted as an average, so we must bin less than average?
We compost all uncooked food (and tea bags and egg shells)

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

No

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

Kids refusing to eat whats on their plate, veg pealings, the occasional limp lettuce or cucumber.

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

Mixture - raw pealings, cooked kids waste, couldn't comment one way or the other

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

Write a list - buy what you need, rather than what looks good, but you don't have anything to make with it, cook the right amount, stew fruit getting near the end of its life, soup veg, and we often have a "bits and pieces" meal if something has meant we have loads of bits left, but nothing large enough for a whole meal.

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

Crystal ball to see how much the kids will eat - sometimes they will devour 2nds and even 3rd of a dish the previous week they had 2 spoonfuls of

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

Make sure you buy things to complement the ingredients - don't have a random item you can't match with anything.

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

Understand the difference between use by and best before dates, and use your nose and eyes to look at the food, rather than the actual date for most things (I'm funny with fish products - we tend to eat them the day they are bought)

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

We compost our teabags, so yes!

Do you throw away much food at home? No

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

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

What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away? very very rare but I suppose mouldy stuff

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

If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum? I'm the only adult in the house and the dog is a walking waste disposal unit!

How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin? Don't over-buy in the first place, especially fresh stuff. Concentrate on portion size and freeze what you don't need to use.

Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food? No, not really, I think most people know how not to waste, they just don't think about it. People have busy lives so it's not something that's at the forefront of their minds.

Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food? see above ^ I think a lot of the advice is pretty patronising tbh. It's not rocket science. I think it's more important to encourage people to think^ about it in the first place rather than tell them things they already know.

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 don't drink tea!

Don't know what the random italics are in aid of but you get the gist!

~ we are a family from Yorkshire and do not waste much at all. We are far too tight!

We have a compost tin in the kitchen which we empty frequently into the 'composrarium' at the bottom of the garden frequently. Then it is used for gardening.

~ I don't know if are council offer anything. They haven't made us aware if they do.

~ my toddler is a good source of wasted food but I'm sure that will improve with time.

~ I think sometimes I dish out very big portions at mealtimes and waste cooked food.

~ we plan meals at the beginning of the week, and only buy what we need. If we have left overs we make stocks/soups/casseroles etc and keep them in the freezer. Any bits of scrap food also get used in lunches. I am a stay at home mum and often throw all sorts in sandwiches, omelettes, egg fried rice on things for lunch. We seem to take a sandwich everywhere we go. Often to avoid paying for lunch whilst out (being tight again).

~ The better Myself or my husband get at cooking the less waste we make.

~ people need to know the basics of cooking, and not just to cook to recipe. So how to make soups, how to use left overs etc. I would say cooking programmes are moving towards this. During richer times they used extravagant ingredients which may be used only once and then the rest wasted to make flash showey offy dishes. Now things seem to be back to basics. Oh, as well as seasonal.

~ we always have plenty of tinned food such as beans, sweet corn etc so can quickly make anything. We go to Asian supermarkets and buy essential herbs and spices in bulk to save money and have plenty in stock. We also buy a lot of seasonal fruit, potatoes and eggs straight from the local farm when we need it (partly because my son likes the tractors).

~ yes our tea bags go in the compostarium.

• Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin? We used to throw out a lot of food, due to leftovers, forgetfulness and bulk buying. We have since gotten a wormery and are a lot more careful with shopping lists as it was a waste of money.
• Does your local council offer a food waste collection service? No.
• What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away? Leftovers that we can't do much with.
• 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? We have lessened our throwing outage by meal planning.
• 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 got the wormery, excited about how good it will be for our garden.
• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food? Only buy what you need, not what you think you need.
• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food? Same applies, buy what you need not what you think you 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? No. But I'm not much of a tea drinker.

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

We have had kitchen caddies introduced recently with our council. We have to put all our food waste into the caddies instead of the bin. Yes we do have a compost bin but no if it is wet and horrible outside then I don't tend to put any waste in the compost bin as I am too lazy to wander up the garden to throw all the waste away - so I use the food caddy often.

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

The council has now reduced the waste collection service - so we have to put our food waste into the special caddies but we are expected to buy our own green compostable food bags to line.

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

If I can't reuse the food then I throw in the food caddy.

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

Food is mainly cooked or out of date.

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

We usually have about 3 food bags of food from the caddy a week but this is a household of 4.

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

Put into my compost bin.

• 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?

Try and reuse as much as possible.

• 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 can put these into our food caddies for council to collect.

My throwing away habits have changed dramatically since our local council has introduced home compositing/waste collection. It's great. I feel so much better about throwing out food waste since it's being composted by the council. Everything goes in there, cooked/raw food, tea bags, everything and I love it. It means our big bin is less smelly, less full (they only collect every two weeks) and I feel it's better for the environment (less landfill). I also find the doing online shops rather than in store means I buy only what I really need which cuts down on waste.

Just remembered : the other reason why I sometimes throw away fruit that has gone rotten is that dh complains that I don't buy enough fruit so I buy more and then it goes off .

So then I go back to just buying the bananas and grapes that I know I'll eat (ds doesn't eat bananas) and a few apples (ds eats both grapes and apples)

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 some, yes. Food waste goes in the black bin. We don't have a kitchen caddy or a compost bin.

Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?

Not yet (Midlothian). We're scheduled to get one next spring.

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

Over-cooking - we try to batch cook but can be very bad at remembering to put leftovers in the fridge/freezer . We throw more out when we don't do a week's worth of meal-planning properly. Sometimes we decide on the spur of the moment to get a chipper instead of cooking, and then sometimes we just don't fancy the leftovers and make something else instead. I'm baby-led weaning my 7.5 month old and she chucks a lot of food on the floor. The dog eats most of that, though, so it doesn't go in the bin.

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

Bit of both, really. Leftovers get thrown out if we've forgotten about them, and some veg goes off before it gets used.

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

Feed it to the dog! I also pay more attention to the smell/look of food than the use-by date, so I don't throw it out just because it says to. Eggs, for example, keep for much longer than the use-by date says. If I'm not sure about them, I put them in a bowl of water to see if they float. I also freeze extra portions or put them in the fridge for DH to take to work. Meal-planning properly helps a lot.

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

Plan better and stick to it. Remember to refrigerate or freeze extra portions straight away and not leave them uncovered in the pan to go off.

Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?

Nothing apart from what I said above.

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

Make stock from chicken carcasses/lamb bones etc.

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

I know that, but I don't do it.

We throw away some food. My DCs ate still fairly small so they are still at the stage of leaving quite a bit or changing minds about likes and dislikes. My mum lives with us and is a real problem as far as food waste is concerned- she tends to buy bulk quantities of garlic pickle or tinned asparagus which we never get round to using and every time she goes on holiday she stocks up. 60 Chinese pineapple and plum sour cakes anyone?

The other thing is that we do grow a lot of food. While this is great, we have gluts and there is fairly regularly a bag of courgette or lettuce in the fridge which has come in from the garden but we have run out if energy and enthusiasm to find a use for.

We compost a lot (most of the vege waste above) but the Council has stopped doing food collections.

We're getting better but slowly.

Throw away fruit and veg peelings, leftovers that cannot be kept for another meal / snack, also sometimes guilty of over buying and throw away the odd half used packet of salad / spinach when it gets past its best and the odd yoghurt or few slices of ham . It goes into my general waste bin as not allowed to put in "garden bin" it is for grass cuttings etc. I presume it goes to landfill as no incinerator round here. I do not have a kitchen caddy as do not compost as have no need for it (very minimalist garden!!).
Local council does not offer a food waste collection service - I wish they would.
The food I throw away is a mixture of cooked and uncooked food.
I use as much of the leftovers as I can in other dishes such as soups / casseroles etc. Hate throwing away salad stuff, yoghurts and ham but they cannot be frozen if I over buy - guess I just need to be more organised to ensure they get eaten up before use by dates.
Was aware tea bags can be composted after staying at an eco friendly farm.

I rarely throw any food away. I make sure we buy just the right amount and I make sure it all gets eaten before it goes rotten. Very rarely something may go off before we use it and I always feel angry at myself for not spotting that and using the food sooner. But this only happens once in a blue moon.

We don't have a compost bin (we used to have one but when garden was wrecked by builders we never replaced it). Although i love the idea of composting, in a small garden it did cause a few little problems like flies/pests/smell and we once had a snake!

I keep wanting to get a nice beehive looking one but at the moment it makes more sense just to put the peelings in the green bin collected by the council.

On the odd occasion that we have thrown food away (occassionally may happen if we are unwell and don't eat as much food as planned for example), it is mainly uncooked food. Once food it cooked it gets eaten that day or leftovers get eaten next day or i will freeze meals to prevent wastage.

We manage to keep waste to a minimum by only buying what we need and making sure everything gets used in meal combinations that prevent waste. e.g. any extra veg that might be turning gets added to anything i am cooking that day.

Just needs a little resourcefulness inventiveness and planning to prevent waste food. I don't mega plan meals but just make sure i use up food before it goes out of date.

• Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
  add extra veggies to any meal like bolognaise, chilli con carne, shepherds pie etc and then freeze little portions of leftovers for another meal another day.

• Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
  Just buy what you need. if you are regularly throwing away a certain food then you are probably buying too much of 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. (we don't drink much tea though).

We are trying throw away less:-
Leftover bread- used to often chuck the last 3rd of a loaf. Now turn into breadcrumbs and freeze. Use for stuffing, meatballs or on macaroni cheese.
Past it's best fruit- make into muffins. Usually plum or apple. Sometimes stew and make Fruit Crumble or Charlotte using breadcrumbs.
Old veg gets turned into soup.

Look carefully at labels when buying food- accidently bought houmous on Saturday that was use by Sunday though : (

Sort through the fridge every other day- takes 5 mins but reminds me what we have.

Menu plan so buy less in the first place.

Take leftovers for lunch the next day.

Not great at cooking the right amount of pasta and rice. We eat more than the recommended portion on the packs.

Do you throw away much food at home? Where does the food waste go? Do you have a kitchen caddy and compost bin?
We try not to, I hate wasting food! Most of the wasted food is down to the DCs. We were given a food waste caddy by the local council (which we are supposed to line with newspaper) but i don't use it I hate the sight of it in my kitchen. I still have it though so might start using it. We have the brown compost/garden waste bin.

Does your local council offer a food waste collection service?
They collect the brown bin fortnightly!

What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
The kids waste most, so uneaten food, or if i cook too much sometimes the leftovers just get binned.

Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
I would say 50/50 maybe slightly more cooked food..

If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
I try to cook just what we need and freeze leftovers.

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

Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
Cook what we will use!

Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
Stick to a shopping list so we buy what we 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 :)

What are the main reasons or circumstances that you throw food away?
When i do a bulk shop, and plan badly, eg. if I have planned a meal and we go out for dinner instead. Then sometimes I throw away fresh food.

Of food you throw away, is it mainly cooked or uncooked food?
Scrapings from the plate I suppose, or gone off veg. Very little else.

If you don't throw away much food, how do you manage to keep waste to a minimum?
I meal plan carefully.

How do you or how do you think you could make the most of the food that would otherwise be put in the bin?
Maybe I could get half a loaf of bread out ata time instead of a full loaf, as i sometimes throw away the last few slices when they are no longer fresh

Have you got any great ideas for wasting less food?
Freeze leftovers, even small portions. I can then take these to work or reheat small amounts of curry/chilli etc to go on a baked potato for the kids' tea

Have you got any top money-saving tips that also help you to throw away less food?
Buy less food. Only buy in bulk when you know you will use everything, or buy a bulk purchase and split with a family member

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 food waste is collected round here and I don't have space for composting. But then, i dont drink tea, so not a worry!