We’re throwing away more food than we think (but here’s how to use it up)

New research shows we're wasting a lot of food, but from a regular 'shelfie' to delicious use-it-up recipes, there are a lot of ways to cut back on what goes in the bin.

Put your leftover bread to work and make a bread and butter pudding - sweet or savoury like this ham, cheese and spinach meal. Source: Danielle Abou Karam

New research has found that meat, bread and cheese are among the items most likely to end up in the bin – and food waste is costing many of us more than $900 a year.

The largest investigation in Australia so far into the how, why and what of food waste suggests that on average, we’re wasting $18.55 worth of food per person, per week. The study, part of an ongoing  ‘Designing effective interventions to reduce household food waste’ research project, took a three-level look at waste, including a national survey, a detailed waste diary and a physical bin audit.

Results of the 2021 study, by the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre (FFW CRC) study found that most people don’t believe they personally waste a lot of food – but comparisons of the bin audits and surveys and dairies show many of us significantly underestimate how much we waste. For others, the desire to cut waste is there, but time pressures, budget or lack of food knowledge gets in the way. (Find out more about the report findings here)

So what can we do? Here are some tips, and recipes, to help you cut your waste.

The 'shelfie'

One of the CRC's tips for reducing waste is to check what you have in the fridge, freezer and cupboards before you go shopping - and take a 'shelfie', so you can double-check what you've got while you are out shopping.

No-waste gatherings

Professor David Pearson, the co-author of the study, tells SBS his key suggestion for people is to eat what you buy. "How? Plan your meals, check your fridge, create a shopping list (and stick to it!), store food by putting 'needs to be eaten first' at the front, and finally, keep leftovers for an easy meal the next day. And if you are hosting an activity which includes food make it a ‘no food waste event’ by having clip lock plastic bags for people to take home any uneaten foods."

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Recipes to use things up

While the items most likely to be wasted vary a little between the three avenues of research, bread, meat, fruit and veg and dairy (mostly likely cheese) appear again and again. Here are some of our favourite ways to use those up. 

Bread becomes breakfast and many other things, too. 

Many ways with fruit and vegetable scraps

Meat into meals

Cheesy ideas

Find out more about the Fight Food Waste CRC here. Get more ideas for using things up in our holiday leftovers collection.