Love Food Hate Waste aims to reduce millions of tonnes of food wasted in the UK. A third of all food waste is thrown away, costing the average family £420 a year. Most of this food is or once was, perfectly good to eat.

Somerset Waste Partnership is supporting Love Food Hate Waste and is promoting some quick and easy things we can do to help us all cut down the amount of food which we discard. FFor more information please click here.

South West Love Food Hate Waste Campaign

Good food is something to love and relish and we can all do more to make the most of the food we buy, whether it’s using up leftovers, keen an eye on date labels or measuring our portions, and small actions such as these could save you up to £50 a month!

Each person in the UK throws away roughly their own body weight in food each year.  At approximately 70kg per person and with a population of 5.2 million, this means the South West alone generates a massive 364,000 tonnes of food waste annually.  This costs the average family about £610 per year, or £420 for smaller households.

For the first time all Local Authorities across the region worked together to ask people to “love food hate waste”, providing information and advice on clever shopping, using up leftovers and getting back into the kitchen for some creative cooking.

Over 6,500 people made the pledge to reduce their food waste as part of the South West Love food Hate Waste Campaign during October and November 2009.  Thousands of people turned up to events and roadshows in their local area.  The events encouraged everyone to think about their shopping and how they cook and store food.  Visitors were given handy tips on portion size, recipes and food storage.

The campaign received the support of South West celebrities, including former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, BBC Radio Devon presenter Judi Spiers, and various local sports teams in the region.

In Somerset:  To support the campaign the Somerset Waste Action Programme held 9 roadshows across the county.  In Somerset, 10 prizes were awarded through local prize draws – 9 Food Saver Packs were given away as well as a bumper prize awarded at Somerset’s launch event.

At Somerset roadshows and working with a Diet & Fitness Club, over 1000 people found out how to reduce food waste.  On average around 60% of people spoken to at these events made a pledge to waste less and save money.  Including the pledges made online, over 900 Somerset residents pledged to reduce the amount of food they waste as part of the campaign. 

A big thank you to those who took part, particularly those who braved the heavy rain and cold to see us!

Huge savings were made by councils working together across the South West.  The campaign received funding from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the South West Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (SW RIEP) and the Environment Agency to boost the campaign.

Remember there’s lots of tips to make the most of your food over the festive season on www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/southwest and help you waste less food and save money!

To reduce your food waste please remember to do one or more of the following:

1.       Plan weekly meals and only buy what’s needed
2.       Make a shopping list this week and stick to it
3.       Only cook what’s needed for each meal
4.       Use any leftovers to create new meals
5.       Check use by dates in the fridge and freeze anything which won’t be eaten in time
6.       Keep fruit and veg in the fridge (except bananas)!
7.       Keep a food waste diary for one week to see how much and what types of food are thrown away.

If you do this, you’ll save money by cutting down on food being wasted.

For lots of hints and tips to make your food go further visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

The best thing that can happen to food is that it makes it to our plates and is enjoyed. However some food waste is inevitable. Egg shells, banana skins and tea bags are never going to be on the menu. Home composting is a great way to stop this sort of waste ending up in landfill, and our gardens will really thank us for it.

If you live in an area that has kerbside food collection service, you can use this to collect anything you can’t eat, or home compost. It is composted into good quality soil improver or fertilizer.  

In the UK it has been estimated that 6.7 million tonnes of food waste each year is thrown away. When food waste breaks down in landfill sites it releases methane, a powerful landfill gas. This is on top of the methane produced in the production and distribution of food.

How can you do your bit to reduce food waste?

• When you are going shopping take a list – don't get tempted by special offers or bulk buys unless they are products that you know you are going to use.

• Keep your fridge at the temperature recommended by the manufacturers – many fridges are kept too warm which encourages foods to go off.

• When putting food away ensure that new food is put to the back of cupboards and fridge shelves and the old food is brought forward.

• Remember to safely store food – keep cooked and uncooked food separate, maximise the use of the vegetable shelf.

Don't forget to compost!

Use a home compost bin to dispose of your leftover vegetable peelings, tea bags, coffee grinds and fruit scraps. If you don't have a compost bin click here for details of the current scheme offering reduced price compost bins to Somerset residents from just £16.50.