Tips and tricks to reduce food waste at home ♻️
It’s 2022 and a state of climate emergency, to reduce irreversible destruction and meet the international goal to limit warning to 1.5C, we have to make changes. Our role as a business is to help inspire those changes. Currently over a quarter of all greenhouse emissions come from food and as a food and drinks business, we want to help tackle this huge issue.
In the UK alone, it’s estimated that we roughly throw away 9.5 million tones of food waste annually. The biggest issue is that all this food waste ends up in landfill sites which are already full of rubbish. Although people don’t normally view this is as a problem as food decomposes over time, it contributes towards global warming. In fact, most of your vegetable and fruit waste would only take 2-3 weeks to fully decompose in your compost bin, but it can take a shocking 25 years for one lettuce to decompose at a landfill site (yes you heard us right, 25 years…). That’s because everything has become so squashed together that no oxygen can get down to the waste, preventing the microbes that break down the waste from doing their job.
We realise that everyone has a part to play when tackling food waste, so here are a few tips and tricks we have learnt along the way.
1. Start composting at home:
If you start composting at home it will help to reduce the volume of waste that takes up space in landfills, which pollute our planet with methane and Co2. It’s also a way to lighten your impact on the waste stream and you’ll know that those vegetables peelings are going to good use rather than putting more stress on our planet. If that has convinced you to start composting, we have a step by step guide to kick-start your composting journey.
2. Use up all your fruit and veg:
We have all been there – you find a carrot or two that have gone squishy in the back of your fridge and those bananas in the fruit bowl have started to go from bright yellow to a speckley brown colour. Not to fret – unless it has got actual mould growing on it, you can save the fruit and veg and turn it into something quite delicious. Any vegetables can be blitzed up and turned into a soup that you can then freeze or you can add any finely chopped veg into a range of dishes such as curries, pasta dishes and stews. Finley chopping them up or blending them until you can’t see them is also a great way to add extra nutrients into your diet and great if you’re cooking for someone a little picky who doesn’t love their 5-a-day in!
Bananas that are past their sell by date can be used in smoothies or better yet a delicious banana bread! Bananas aren’t the only fruit that can be added to baked goods – we have a recipe for an amazing vegan strawberry chocolate muffins, you have to mush up your strawberries into the mixture anyway so they are perfect and any berry would work well in this recipe.
3. Freezing herbs:
Fresh herbs always elevate a dish, but they never last that long either. One trick we have learnt is pretty genius, all you need is an ice cube tray, olive oil or plant-based butter and your choice of herbs. Chop up the herbs you want to freeze and add them to your ice cube tray, then top these with oil or melted butter and freeze. Each cube of herbs can then be popped out when needed in a dish and stirred up to make something fragrant and delicious.
4. Love your list:
If you always seem to have leftover food in the fridge, then you might be buying food you don’t need. A great way to tackle this issue is with a simple shopping list. Decide what you and your family are going to eat that week and write a list of all the ingredients you need. Make sure you go through your fridge and cupboard before heading to the shops because you will be amazed at what could be hiding behind a few jars and packets.
5. Love your freezer:
Your freezer can become your best friend when you’re trying to reduce food waste because it will keep your food for longer. If you’re a household of one or you have made too much food to eat, you can simply freeze any leftover food and enjoy it in a few weeks time. Make sure to write down when you froze it and a list of what pre-made food you already have in the freezer to make it easier for you.