A new ACT Government initiative will encourage Canberrans to reduce their food waste and help decrease the 26,000 tonnes of organic scraps going into ACT landfill each year.
The Love Food Hate Waste campaign will aim to reduce the current estimated 20% of groceries being thrown out per week and help Canberrans save up to $3,800 annually.
ACT Recycling and Waste Reduction Minister Chris Steel said the campaign hoped to educate families and help households save money.
“Education is a critical component to the successful rollout of a future food waste collection scheme. Before we recycle food, we need to work to reduce the amount of food waste we are producing in the first place,” he said.
“By rethinking the food we throw out, it is estimated that Canberra households can save up to $3,800 every year off their food bills – that’s up to $73 each week.
“Reducing food waste is as simple as making a meal plan, fine-tuning our shopping list and sticking to the list, storing food well and using our leftovers.”
In Australia, 74% of the food waste content in landfill has come from households.
The campaign includes a range of resources that can be accessed online, including tips and tricks for reducing your food waste, downloadable shopping lists for planning your meals, and downloadable labels for freezing your food.
“Every day there is good food being thrown away that could have been eaten. If people adopt into their lifestyle a handful of suggested actions, we will notice a reduction in the amount of food going to landfill,” Mr Steel said.
“Thinking about how we shop, how we eat and how we store our food will not only save families money, but we will be creating a more sustainable lifestyle.”
The campaign has been modelled off a successful initiative developed in the United Kingdom and has been adopted by the Victorian and NSW Governments and Brisbane City Council.
