New data reveals that the average UK household throws away nearly 2kg of food every day, equivalent to eight full meals every week.
To mark Food Waste Action Week from 9th to 15th March, food hygiene experts from High Speed Training are highlighting how small changes at home can protect the environment. UK households currently discard 4.4 million tonnes of edible food annually, worth an estimated £17.5 billion. This waste also creates 16 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
The most commonly wasted items in the UK include bread, potatoes, milk, bananas, and salad. Experts suggest that confusion over date labels often leads to people throwing away perfectly safe food.
Dr Richard Anderson, Director of Learning at High Speed Training, said: “It can be hard to quantify 9.5 million tonnes of annual food waste, and this often leads people to think that their own food-wasting habits aren’t contributing to the larger problem. However, wasting food is often easier than you may think, and households in the UK throw away, on average, 1.96kg of food per day, roughly equivalent to eight meals per week.”
He commented: “One reason for this can be due to date labels and confusion around shelf-life. A misinterpretation of ‘best before’ can lead people to discard food that is still safe to eat as they gauge these date labels as indicators of food safety, rather than quality.”
High Speed Training has shared 10 top tips to help manage kitchens more effectively and reduce waste:
- Plan ahead: Meal prep or plan your weekly shop to ensure you only buy what you can eat.
- Make your freezer your friend: Preserve freshness by freezing leftovers or even vegetable peels for future soups.
- Compost: Start a home compost to stop food from rotting in landfills and benefit your garden.
- Preserve your food: Use methods like canning, sugaring, salting, or vacuum packing to extend shelf life.
- Organise your kitchen: Move older items to the front of the cupboard so they are used first.
- Buy loose: Purchase individual fruit and vegetables to get the exact amount you need.
- Donate any surplus: Give excess food to those in need rather than letting it go to waste.
- Give it a sniff: Use sensory cues for “best before” dates, as these indicate quality rather than safety.
- Love your leftovers: Get creative and adapt side dishes into new, tasty meals.
- Embrace the ‘wonky’: Buy fruit and vegetables with cosmetic imperfections, which are often cheaper and perfectly edible.
