Food for thought in rubbish survey

Food, almost glorious food, is going to waste in a home near you.

It’s not surprising in our disposable world that our rubbish bins contain food deemed past its eat-by date but which remains edible.

But if you add up all that discarded tucker, the numbers are more eye-watering than a bin full of onions.

A study that fossicked through the country’s rubbish estimates the average Kiwi household throws away $563 of edible food a year.

That adds up to $872 million, enough to provide lunches for the nation’s schoolkids for three years. Among Nelson and Tasman families who took part in a kitchen diary project, an average of 3.3kg of edible food was binned by each family during the week.

There would be few who haven’t tossed days-old bread, sprouting potatoes, wrinkled apples or the other night’s chicken dinner without a care in the world.

But the survey reveals some food for thought.

As well as the wasted money, there is the environment to consider.

Almost a third of the waste trucked to our landfills from kerbside collections is food. That loads costs on to transport, the maintenance and lifespan of the landfill and in these climatesensitive times also has an impact on carbon emissions.

At the heart of the issue for many is that we are spoiled for choice, and therefore let our choices spoil.

Why bother with the remains of that slightly stale loaf when there are easy options?

Older generations had neither the almost round-the-clock availability of fresh food or as much disposable income to constantly replenish the larder. Leftover meals were not an art, but a necessity.

Movements such as Love Food Hate Waste have sparked campaigns that have made inroads into food waste in Britain, with oodles of advice about how to plan and store food, and use up leftovers in creative ways.

So next time you peer into the recesses of your fridge and find that slightly dusty cauliflower, turn it into mash instead of binning it. Stale rolls can be smeared with garlic butter and frozen for ready-to-use garlic bread. You will do your wallet and the environment a favour.

Weare spoiled for

choice, and therefore let our

choices spoil.