Reducing Food Waste
Hull Food Partnership works to connect people and organisations who live, work, learn, play and eat in Hull – our vision is for a healthy and resilient food culture in Hull that looks after people and the planet.
These tips are provided to help residents and organisations in Hull reduce food waste.
Information for households
Top 10 tips for reducing food waste
Wasting food is one of the biggest contributors to climate change. A lot of water, land, energy, time, and transportation go into producing our food, and yet in UK homes we waste 4.7 million tonnes of edible food every year. That’s enough to make 10 million meals!
Luckily, there are some simple actions we can all take to keep food out of the bin and save up to £250 every year. Here are 10 things from Love Food Hate Waste you can try to stop wasted food feeding climate change:
1. It’s a date! ‘Use by’ is about safety – food should not be eaten after this date (even if it looks/smells fine). ‘Best before’ is about quality – although food won’t be at top quality after this date, it will still be safe to eat for some time. https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/good-food-habits/how-do-I/make-sense-of-food-date-labels
2. Compleat. Always binning crusts and broccoli stems? Over two-thirds of the food we waste is perfectly edible, so using every edible bit of your food (‘compleating’) is essential. Try leaving the skin on when you make mashed potato – this will save you time as well!
3. Chill the fridge out. The average fridge temperature in UK homes is nearly 7°C, but foods will last longer if they are kept at under 5°C. Not sure how to adjust your fridge temperature? Love Food Hate Waste can help:
https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/good-food-habits/check-your-fridge-temperature
4. Perfect portions. Hands up who has ever found themselves with far too much rice or pasta? It’s easy to do, but there are simple ways to cook the perfect amount. For example, a mug filled with dry rice will cook enough for four adults.
5. Snap a shelfie. If you’re not a fan of shopping lists, take a picture of your fridge/cupboard shelves before you head to the shops instead. This will stop you from buying something you’ve already got at home.
6. Savvy storage. Most fruit and veg will stay fresher for longer in the fridge. The key exceptions are bananas and pineapple (keep these on the counter), and onions and potatoes (which should be kept in a cool, dark, dry place – like a cupboard!). Not sure where something should be stored? Try this Food Storage A–Z!
https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/foods-and-recipes?f%5B0%5D=type%3Afood
7. Freeze up to the ‘use by’ date. All foods with a ‘use by’ date, including meat, can be frozen right up to this date. This is especially helpful if your plans change at the last minute – before you order an emergency takeaway, check your fridge for anything that can be frozen for another day.
8. Ice-cube tray – the freezer hero. Too much milk, not enough time? Pour your remaining milk into ice-cube trays and freeze – this is the perfect amount for a brew. You can use ice-cube trays to freeze fresh herbs, too. Chop them up, pop them in the tray, and top up with oil, and then you have easy portions to add to the pan next time you’re cooking.
9. Use your loaf. Bread is another food that freezes beautifully. Put your sliced loaf in the freezer, and then you can pick out a slice at a time and toast straight from frozen. Extra tip: tap the loaf on the counter before you freeze it to stop the slices sticking together. https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/foods-and-recipes/bread
10. Unidentified Frozen Objects. Before you freeze your leftovers, label the bag/container telling you what’s inside and when you froze it.
Information for organisations
New rules for organisations producing food waste
New UK commercial food waste legislation, part of the “Simpler Recycling” initiative, mandates that organisations with 10 or more employees must separate food waste from other waste for collection by 31 March 2025. This means businesses need to have separate bins for food waste, which must be collected by licensed waste carriers. Organisations with fewer than 10 employees have until 31 March 2027 to comply.
The legislation applies to all businesses and non-household premises in England. The legislation aims to reduce waste sent to landfill, minimise methane emissions, and improve recycling rates.
Food Waste Definition:
Food waste includes all food intended for human or pet consumption, as well as biodegradable materials from food preparation like peelings and bones.
Waste Categories:
Organisations will typically need four containers: residual (non-recyclable) waste, food waste, paper and card, and other dry recyclables (plastic, metal, and glass).
You can have separate bins for each type of waste or separate the waste before collection. If you provide bins for your customers or visitors, you need to separate this before collection too.
You can decide on the size of containers and frequency of collections based on the volume of waste you produce.
If your organisation generates garden waste, you must arrange for it to be recycled or composted if it delivers the best environmental outcome.
Workplaces that must follow these rules:
The rules apply to all businesses, charities and public sector organisations including:
• offices
• retail and wholesale, such as supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience stores, garden centres, and service station forecourts
• transport, such as trains, train stations, buses and coaches, bus stations, domestic vessels and ports, and airports
• hospitality, such as cafes, restaurants, pubs, take-aways, and hotels
• holiday parks, campsites and short-term rentals such as cottages or lodges
• entertainment and sports venues, such as cinemas, theatres, galleries, theme parks, zoos, stadiums and arenas
• agricultural premises, including shows, showgrounds and markets
• construction sites
• warehouses
• manufacturing facilities, factories, and workshops
• venues for temporary events such as festivals and shows, including outdoor events
• places of education, such as schools, colleges, and universities
• healthcare places, such as GP surgeries and hospitals
• care homes
• charities and those registered as charities
• places of worship
• penal institutes
• charity shops selling donated goods that came from a domestic property
• residential hostels that provide accommodation to people with no other permanent address or who are unable to live at their permanent address only
• premises used only or mainly for public meetings
This is not a complete list. If you generate waste that is similar in nature and composition to household waste, you are likely to be in scope of the requirements.
Guidance for your sector:
Find specific guidance for each sector on the WRAP website, which is funded by Defra.
The website also includes a waste calculator. This gives you the potential cost of waste collection services and ideas to improve waste efficiency.
Guardians of Grub: Support for hospitality and food service organisations
Guardians of Grub is WRAP’s food waste reduction campaign to tackle the £3 billion of food thrown away at hospitality and food service outlets. It is aimed at empowering professionals from across the hospitality and food service sector to reduce the amount of food thrown away in their businesses.
The campaign is suitable for everyone in the sector, from Michelin star restaurants to local pubs; wherever food is served to order. It is about making simple, low-cost changes to the way food is bought, prepared and served that can help reduce the amount of food needlessly thrown away.
A suite of free operational resources is available that businesses can use to tackle food waste, including information posters and how-to guides, and a free calculator to record the changes being made.
Find out how you can join the movement and rise up against food waste.