FOOD WASTE

Any food that is sent to landfill releases methane into the atmosphere. Instead, use a food waste bin and send your surplus food to be composted or to produce energy. So much time, land, fuel, investment and more go into producing our food. Thats why the best thing we can do is use every bit of food.

To help, below is a load of waste reducing tips and recipes shared from chefs in this network.

If you’ve got an innovative way to use the whole of an ingredient or you’ve created an outstanding staff meal using items destined for the bin, then let us know so we can add yours too!

A mason jar filled with fermented herbs stands against a plain background. A label tied to the jar reads "lacto fermented herbs'

RECIPE SEARCH

All you need to know about freezing dairy products

  • Freezes well but might need some mixing to return smoothness. Freeze before the use-by date and use within 24 hours.

  • These can all be frozen but they can become grainy and sometimes split - still great for cooking though.

  • Freezes well but unsalted butter loses flavour if it’s frozen for too long - so use it within a few months.

  • Freezes well, especially when it has a very high-fat content, but keep in mind that it won’t whip as well after thawing.

  • When frozen, they will become crumbly, a little dry and will not slice as well, so it’s best to grate or cut them into small pieces first. The flavour will be just as good as fresh cheese though! 

  • These can be frozen to use later in cooking, dips or as icing.

  • Speciality cheese will lose a lot of quality after freezing so we can't recommend this - but no judgement here.

    Above info we picked up through trial and error and a study done by North Dakota State University.

A man is sticking a 'Too Good to Go' sticker to the window. Too Good to Go is an app that reduces food waste.

REDISTRIBUTE SURPLUS FOOD

Pigs feeding outdoors.
Image of a dog in a bag, serving as a humorous play on words for the term 'doggy bag'

Too Good To Go

Reduce food waste and make money by joining the app.

Click here to read The Warren’s great experience using Too Good To Go. Owner Deri says it is amazing marketing too - every time he puts a meal on the app, all users in the area are notified.

Doggy bags for customers

34% of food waste comes from plate waste. Simply ask customers if they would like to take leftovers home. Create a drop-off point for customers and staff to leave old takeaway containers and use these.

Notpla are another great option for takeaway boxes

Feed Livestock

The age-old practice of feeding animals our food waste is back on the cards. These piggies are pictured from Hegensholt Farm in Denmark and are fed on restaurant by-products. Feeding animals food surplus is better than composting - check out the Food Waste Hierarchy also pictured.

Image Credits: Food Waste Hierarchy from the EU Waste Framework Directive

Guardians of grub

Check out the Guardians of Grub food waste tracking calculator to reduce your food waste - its completely free!

By monitoring your food waste you can identify where the heaviest waste stream is - and once you know that you can work on reducing it.

The calculator offers you the tools and information you need to separate and weigh your kitchen's food waste into 4 key sections: Preparation, spoilage, plate waste and other.

If you are serious about reducing food waste, weighing out your bins is the best way to go.