It is estimated that one third of the food we produce is never actually eaten, instead being wasted on farms, in storage or transportation, in shops, in restaurants and ultimately when it reaches our homes.

Although it is difficult to get a precise measure of exactly how much food is being wasted and where that waste occurs, we are all clearly wasting far too much of what is being produced. Zero Waste Scotland estimates that 59% of all food waste in Scotland comes from households with the average family of four able to save up to £1000 and 2.5 days a year by taking action to reduce the amount of food they waste!

Reducing waste is not just about saving time or money though - although it certainly helps! Doing so will also help to lower greenhouse gas emissions, conserve valuable natural resources and contribute to building a more sustainable food system, all of which will help to mitigate climate change and reduce biodiversity loss.

Learn more about food waste

Addressing the issue of food waste effectively and sustainably at all stages of food production, distribution and consumption plays a significant role in mitigating climate change and reducing the loss of biodiversity around the world for several reasons.

Food production methods can vary significantly around the world with food products requiring different degrees of processing, however all food regardless of how it is produced requires at least some resources to grow, harvest, transport, process, store and sell to the end consumer.

This is the carbon footprint of food, with some types of food – such as red meat - being significantly more resource-intensive to produce, with larger carbon footprints associated with its farming and the various stages of its production, transportation and processing than others.

Growing our food requires vast amounts of land, water, energy, time and labour. When we waste food, we also waste these valuable resources required to cultivate the raw ingredients, manufacture the products and distribute them between destinations before they end up in our shopping baskets and on our plates. We could significantly conserve many of these precious resources and reduce pressures being placed on land and natural environments from farming and our food system just by reducing the amount of food we throw away.

Wasting food also means the greenhouse gas emissions associated with growing and manufacturing those products at different stages were released for nothing. Food that ends up in landfill further contributes to climate change as when it decomposes it produces the potent greenhouse gas methane - so less food waste also means less methane in the atmosphere. By lowering our food waste, we could also reduce demand for any potential excess food production and its resource requirements and associated greenhouse gas emissions.

The wider environmental impacts of agriculture and food overproduction, including deforestation, soil erosion and land use change could also be lessened by reducing excessive food waste. Pressures to increase yields and produce more crops from farmland globally leads to the ongoing expansion of agricultural land into natural ecosystems already serving a vital role storing carbon and providing shelter and food for wildlife.

This pressure to expand could be greatly reduced through a combination of more efficient land use and more sustainable food production from existing agricultural land, preserving important habitats, ecosystems and biodiversity that could be lost forever.

By consumers being more conscious of their food waste and making a more concerted effort to reduce the amount they throw away, global food production is more likely to work towards more sustainable agricultural practices with a reduced carbon footprint.

This is key to developing more environmentally sustainable food systems with fewer negative impacts on the climate and biodiversity and which are themselves less susceptible to disruption to production from climate breakdown and loss of vital natural ecosystem services. It also further encourages a more circular economy, with food waste that cannot be totally avoided being repurposed for making compost, as animal feed or for generating energy.

How to reduce food waste

We can all do our bit to reduce food waste and by doing so take positive action against climate change and biodiversity loss. There are additional benefits to wasting less food by being more mindful in the shops and thrifty in the kitchen, including saving significant amounts of time and money!

Even making small changes to your shopping and eating habits can have a significant impact. The main ways to reduce your food waste involve:

By having some idea of what you are planning to cook over the course of a week, you will have a better idea of exactly what you need to buy when you go food shopping. This reduces the chances of impulse buying products including those on special offer that might otherwise end up in the bin.

Making sure you use as much of the ingredients you buy and eat as much of what you cook with them as possible can significantly reduce your food waste. For example, the stem of a broccoli can be finely sliced and put in stir-fries or the peelings from potatoes can be cooked as crisps. By getting creative with what you have available, as well as actually eating leftovers the next day, you can turn them into other delicious meals, salads, soups and sandwich fillings.

If you buy in bulk and are unable to use everything before it expires or find yourself with surplus food including gluts of homegrown produce, consider contacting your nearest food bank or community group to see if they would accept a donation to save it from going to waste.

In recent years it has become more common to find discounted “wonky veg” in many shops, comprising of some of the produce that would previously have been rejected by retailers and ultimately gone to waste. This produce is usually perfectly edible despite its imperfections so buying it not only reduces food waste but saves money too.

Eating at home gives you more control over how much you eat as well as what you eat. Serving smaller portions means there is less chance of uneaten food being left on the plate. Remember, it’s always possible to go back for more and far more tempting to save leftovers that haven't been half-eaten on a plate.

There are a range of websites offering tips, tricks and hacks about how to be creative with leftover food and help you reduce your food waste. Friends, relatives and work colleagues are possibly also looking at ways to address their food waste so by sharing advice and inspiration it’s possible to create an even greater impact. The more people are aware of the issues surrounding food waste and what they can do about it, the more likely they will be to take practical action.

Make sure you understand the difference between the different dates printed on food packaging, including “use by”, “sell by” and “best before” dates. "Sell by" and "best before" are primarily related to food quality rather than food safety, with many products still perfectly safe to eat past these dates provided they have been stored properly. It is always wise to use your senses in the final instance to check if food is still edible or does need to be thrown away.

Cooking a large batch of food - such as soup or curry – is more energy efficient and can also save you time and money. Eating a portion and then suitably storing or freezing the rest means you have delicious, homecooked meals ready to reheat in an instant.

Understanding how best to store food once you have bought it is key to keeping it fresh, edible and out of the bin. It is especially important that highly perishable produce such as fresh fruit, vegetables and leftovers should be stored properly to extend their shelf life. Check if the food should be best stored in the fridge (e.g. salads and leafy greens) or out of the fridge in a cool, well-ventilated area (e.g. tomatoes, potatoes and onions). Food Standards Scotland has useful resources available.

If you have access to a freezer, freezing food is a great way of preserving food if you aren’t planning to eat it straight away. Meals can be frozen in batches and many fruits and vegetables – especially gluts of homegrown produce – can be frozen immediately after harvest at the peak of their ripeness to preserve their full flavour and nutrient content. This all reduces waste, extends shelf life and preserves fresh produce to enjoy over a longer period.

To find out more about issues surrounding food waste and for additional hints and tips about how to reduce yours visit Zero Waste Scotland.

Composting

One of the best ways to reduce the amount of food waste you send to landfill is to make compost with it.

You can do this at home to produce compost for your garden or growing containers, in a local community garden where they accept suitable donations for their heaps or by recycling it free of charge using your local authority’s food waste collection bins in either North Lanarkshire (brown bin) or South Lanarkshire (burgundy bin).

Composting is a great way of recycling food waste at home for certain food scraps that simply can’t be eaten or reused in any other way. Uncooked food waste such as fruit & vegetable peelings, tea leaves, coffee grounds, eggshells and other organic waste can be put on the compost pile and used to enrich the soil for growing plants in once it has fully decomposed.

It might seem complicated at first, but once you understand what can and cannot be put on the compost pile, you will be surprised how much of what goes in the kitchen bin can be converted into the most valuable resource for any gardener – free, rich, crumbly compost that will nourish the soil and help your plants grow strong and healthy. There’s a good reason many gardeners refer to it as “Black Gold”!

Whether you are looking to compost at home or at your community garden, we have resources available to help you get started.

Visit to our Composting section

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