Easy ways to reduce your food waste

When it comes to stocking the pantry, do you squirrel away more than you need? Perhaps you’re the kind who relishes leftovers and approaches the shopping list like an accountant. Or do you abhor cooking and snack on the run?

Delving deep into the private kitchens of Australians, new research has identified personas associated with different food waste behaviours. A collaboration of the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre and Monash University, the study surveyed more than 2800 Aussie households. Along with scouring some participants’ bins, the researchers sieved through evidence from electronic food diaries and in-depth interviews. 

They identified three broad food waste personas: over-providers, under-planners, and considerate planners. Which one are you?

Over-providers

Such households chuck out an average 6.33 kilograms of food a week – considerably more than the other two groups and the most per person.

According to Dr Gamithri Karunasena, the project manager leading the study, over-providers tend to start with a plan but purchase and cook more than they need. Their fridges are usually bursting with food and they show their love for family and guests by over-catering. Typically, they’re busy, double-income families with young children below the age of 17. “Children influence the food management decisions of these households,” Dr Karunasena says. 

Over-providers tend to have higher incomes than the other groups and eat out more frequently, which also contributes to their food waste behaviour. They were almost twice as likely to waste fresh vegetables as the other groups. 

Under-planners

The next biggest food wasters are uninspired by planning, cooking and shopping – many actively despise it. They’re all about saving time in the kitchen, with quick, easy meal solutions a priority.

Dr Karunasena says under-planners are typically single or couple households aged 35 to 64, without young children. One person is likely to have sole responsibility for all the shopping and cooking. 

This group waste an average of 4.46 kilograms of food per household a week. 

Considerate Planners

These are the Australians actively trying to avoid food waste. Helping them along this path is their love of cooking and organisation backed by sustainable pantry practices like portion control, meal planning and reinventing leftovers. They waste the least: an average of 3.72 kilograms of food per household a week. 

Unsurprisingly, they’re typically older, more experienced in the kitchen, and part of a couple household with no children at home. Considerate planners earn the least income and are least likely to eat out. One person (usually a woman) tends to be responsible for all the shopping. 

“These are our nannies and grannies,” Dr Karunasena says. “And the call is, please share your leftover recipes, cooking tips and tricks with the younger generations.”

The top waste items

Of all food categories to hit the bin, meat and seafood, fresh vegetables and herbs are the most common, Dr Karunasena reveals. Meals prepared at home and fresh fruit are also common throw-away items. 

In Australia, food waste costs the economy $36.6 billion a year, according to the chief executive of Fight Food Waste CRC, Dr Steven Lapidge. Over 50 per cent of this derives from households.

The average Aussie throws out between $2000 and $2500 worth of food a year – equivalent to every one in five shopping bags – according to the National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study. It’s an amount equal to a decent family vacation, Dr Karunasena points out.

An interesting outcome of the study was our guilt and unawareness around our own food wastage. Few understand the impact of waste on the planet, regardless of recycling measures like composting. Throwing away one burger wastes as much water as a 90-minute shower, according to the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment. “That little bit of awareness can go a long way in reducing food waste,” Dr Karunasena says.

Changing your habits

Dr Lapidge says the personas can help us better understand our food waste behaviours and change our habits to reduce waste. 

Dr Karunasena suggests sticking to the mantra espoused by OzHarvest: Look, Buy, Store, Cook. 

Check your kitchen for what you have and create a shopping list around that, she advises. Stick to your list, follow storage instructions and also use the freezer more often. Cook appropriate amounts after checking the hunger levels of people in your household, as well as establishing how many people will be present for a meal.

Love your leftovers. Dr Karunasena recommends allocating a shelf purely for leftovers so that anyone who’s hungry or cooking can easily identify what needs using first. Another idea is a regular leftovers day.

Under-planners can further help avoid food waste with ready-made meal plans, meal kits and online shopping, she adds. Over-providers can engage children more in meal decisions and shift their thinking about what makes a caring host. Ultimately, cooking the right amount of food is more caring than making others feel guilty about waste caused by over-providing.