Choose what you'll use for Food Waste Action Week 2024
One potato, two potato, sure you need more?
Wrap, the Waste and Resource Action Programme, are bringing back the trend of buying loose.
From juicy apples, the staple potato, crunchy carrots, sweet bananas and fresh tomatoes, buying loose means that we can buy what we need and use what we buy in the quantity, shape and size we desire. It also eliminates packaging where it’s not required on our food, further reducing our environmental impact.
According to a Wrap report (dated Nov 2023), everyday in UK homes, we throw away approximately:
🥔 2.9 million whole potatoes
🥕 2.1 million whole carrots
🍅1.4 million whole tomatoes
🍌1 million whole bananas
What can I do?
Planning…
what we are going to eat, for example checking your cupboards and making a meal plan and a shopping list so you know what meals you’re having that week and buy accordingly.
We know there are times when planning may be more difficult for some people. Take a more flexible approach to planning if you know your capacity may vary from day to day and instead plan over a shorter time frame.
Shopping…
and buying what you need is key, and sticking to the list can prevent things you haven’t been able to eat ending up in the bin. It also saves you money.
Challenge and ask yourself while shopping whether it fits your meal plan? Is this on your shopping list? Will you eat it in time, or can you freeze some of it?
Next time before you go shopping, write down how much or how many of each item you need. When you get to the shops, see if you can buy exactly that number of items loose rather than buying pre-packaged produce that might be more than you need. Lots of supermarkets, shops and local farmer and community markets across Oxfordshire sell loose produce.
Good Food Oxfordshire keep a list of farmers and community markets on their map. You can also find community gardens and community food services on there too, should you need them.
Storing…
fresh produce helps to prolong its shelf life. Find out how different food should be stored and remember to set your fridge 5ºC or below so that your food goes further. Storing at the right temperature can extend product life for days, weeks and in the case of apples, months.
What if I have unavoidable food waste?
We understand that some food waste is unavoidable, whether it’s cooked, raw, gone off, peelings, meat or veg, tea bags or plate scrapings. You can compost some types of food waste at home if you have space to do this. All food can be recycled in your kerbside food recycling service collected by your local district council. The food waste is taken to one of Severn Trent Green Power’s facilities in Oxfordshire, where it is used to generate electricity and a rich fertiliser which is used on local farmers fields.
You can watch a video on the recycling process.
Visit your district council’s website for information on bin collections, or if you’re missing a food recycling bin.
West Oxfordshire District Council