With season three of the War On Waste recently back on ABC TV, it’s a great reminder to combat food waste in our own fridges and pantries. Not only does reducing food waste help the environment, it can also help you save money, especially when the average household throws out around $2,500 worth of groceries every year! Throwing away uneaten food wastes all of the water, energy and resources that went into growing the food. When food and other organics are sent to landfill, it breaks down and creates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The good news is there are many easy ways to reduce your household food waste and help the environment at the same time.

Some top ways to reduce food waste are:

Never shop hungry: Make a list before you shop and check your fridge before you go and stick to it. If you live near the shops, visiting more often for fewer items can also help reduce waste.

Use it up: Set up a shelf or container in your fridge where you put any food that has to be used first, either because it’s part eaten or is nearing the end of its life. Or make ‘use-it-up’ tape from masking tape and marker pen and stick it on items close to their use-by date. You’ll know what needs to be used up first at a glance.

Plan ahead: Pre-planning a few meals for each week is a great way to reduce waste and save time on busy weeknights. Knowing exactly what ingredients you need beforehand helps limit the risk of unplanned impulse buying when shopping for groceries. Buy ingredients that can be used across a range of different meals. Capsicum, corn and chicken can be tacos one night and teriyaki chicken the next. Yum!

Get creative: Leftover veggies go well in pasta bakes or to jazz up your regular recipes. Finely slice veggies and add to salads for extra crunch and vitamins. Leftover ham can be shredded and added to bolognese or taco meat, and sad-looking carrots can be turned into great instant pickles with some sugar and vinegar and served on the side of your weeknight stirfry or rice bowl.

Donate or volunteer at a food charity: Cost of living pressures means more families are relying on food charities to get by. See what your local food charities such as Brighton Food Hub, which is run out of Brighton Civic Centre (25 Green Point Rd, Bridgewater), or Waterbridge Food Co-op (191 Lamprill Circle, Gagebrook) will take as it not only helps stop your food from ending up in landfills, it can help others who are doing it tough.

And remember if you can’t avoid food waste and need to dispose of it, then the best place for it is in the green FOGO bin. Materials in the green bin are turned into compost to grow our food.

These easy tips are just a few ways to stop perfectly good food from going to waste. For more ideas on how to reduce food waste, check out www.ozharvest.org.