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Household Food Waste - the Invisible Scandal

At first glance, it looks like perfectly edible food straight from the supermarket. Instead, it's perfectly edible food straight out of household rubbish bins.

A recent study reveals that every year the average New Zealand family throws away more than $563 worth of edible food. The extent of the waste was discovered when an audit of council rubbish bins and bags was carried out across the country to try and find out exactly what food New Zealanders were throwing away and why. 

Hastings District Council Waste Minimisation Planner Angela Atkins says “The audit showed a staggering amount of perfectly good food is thrown away every week. We have known for some time that over half of the rubbish put out for kerbside collection is organic and most is food.”

She said the real surprise was the amount of food that's being thrown away which is still edible. “Whole loaves of bread, unopened yoghurt, untouched fruit made up just some of the food found in rubbish bags during this audit.”  

Hastings District Council was part of the nationwide project that surveyed 1,365 people and searched through 1,402 rubbish bins, to find out how much food is thrown out and why. The study also looks at how people can make better use of left over food. 

Overall, the study found over a quarter of households (27 percent) admitted being big food wasters, throwing out more than $21 a week of edible food.
 
Angela Atkins says “Only ten percent of households declared they waste nothing at all.” 

Councillor Tania Kerr says “As a council, we practice what we preach.  In Hastings our office buildings have recycling stations on each floor where waste is separated and collected. Food waste is fed to our worm farm and the paper and plastics are recycled.”

She said she and her family try to live a sustainable lifestyle and grow much of their own food. “Any leftovers are used up in another meal or composted,” she said.

SOME TIPS FOR LEFTOVERS

  • Make a weekly check of your fridge and use up any aging produce 
  • Store your bread in the fridge or freezer to stop it going mouldy or drying out
  • Stew excess fruit and have it for breakfast. Or make a smoothie
  • Check your fridge before you go shopping to see what needs using up
  • Turn your leftover vegetables into a frittata, soup or add to a stirfry

WORKSHOP

Food Preservation and Storage workshop
Environment Centre
Saturday 28 March 9:30am - 12pm. 
$15 per person or $20.. Registrations are required (ph 06 870 4942).

The workshop covers food storage, food safety, nutrition and includes a demonstration of a solar dehydrator. If you're on Facebook visit Love Food, Hate Waste 

For more information on the Love Food Hate Waste Campaign please email info@lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz

Contact

For more information contact acting Hastings District Council Media Advisor, Karlum Lattimore, on her email karluml@hdc.govt.nz or phone 027 275 5205. 

4 October 2017

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