Waste Not, Want Not
Food waste. We all make it and we all have to put it somewhere. Some of us take a keen interest in our food waste and value it like gold (and it really is!), and some of us choose not to associate with it outside of meal times and putting out the bins. Regardless of where you might stand on the matter, we all have a responsibility to deal with our waste, food or otherwise, consciously. It’s not always necessarily about doing the right thing, which is important and most of us want to do, but maximising the potential of this underrated resource in an effort to avoid sourcing virgin materials. A pursuit which is agonisingly extractive, inefficient and uninspiring.
Approximately one third of all food produced globally is wasted (Project Drawdown, 2023), one third! It’s absolutely bananas! Not only are we disposing of all this perfectly good food but we’re wasting the time and resources involved at each stage of production, processing and distribution such as time, water, human labour, money, energy and packaging (Project Drawdown, 2023). When you add it all up, it’s certainly not a cheap expense and kind of painful to think about. Food waste currently costs the Australian economy $36.6 billion each year which looks like enough food waste to fill the MCG nine times over (OzHarvest, 2023). I know right, it’s a tough one to swallow. We can do better than this with what we already have, it’s been done before and can be done again. There’s nothing remarkably innovative about it, we just need more practice.
I was initially motivated to work with waste systems as a result of my experience working in hospitality and fruit and veg retail, not to mention how much I love food. As one might be able to imagine, I witnessed a lot of food waste working in these food-based industries and it never ceased to shock and upset me. It was like reliving the feeling of surrendering something of value at customs over and over again. Extremely frustrating and gut-wrenching. Most of this waste, if not all of it, was being binned in perfectly good condition without a second thought as to how it could contribute to a circular system. E.g. to compost (a meal for our land), to animals (a meal for our chickens, goats or worms), or to restaurants and cafés for more skilled preservation and preparation (a meal for us). Ultimately given a second life (or third, or fourth!). What really made me uncomfortable was the thought that this behaviour wasn't only occurring in the workplaces I knew, it was reflective of hundreds of retailers, hospitality venues and organisations around the world. So naturally, I was compelled to take an immediate interest in such a concerning issue and precious resource.
Waste doesn’t have to be waste, in fact changing our understanding of what really is waste versus what is a resource, starts with changing the term waste! Loop Growers, an organic farm north-west of Brisbane, call their ‘waste’ yields! What a heartening expression! There are so many examples of small business, community organisations and individuals doing great work to divert enormous amounts of food waste from landfill, and the education and solutions accessible to the individual, business and public bodies are varied and ubiquitous. So, there really is no excuse for us to be waist deep in waste. It’s important to acknowledge that our food system has failed us time and time again, and although our individual responsibility is important, there are lots of necessary changes that need to be made at the policy level, as well as by ‘big food’ to improve this vicious cycle we all find ourselves in. We’re all consumers, we’re all producers, this is the circle of life…and responsibility.
For some inspiration, here are a handful of actions (some small, some bigger) you can take with your waste. We all have the capacity to be a waste warrior and there is no single way to play this role, there are many.
1. Make a shopping inventory to avoid doubling up on items you already have at home. We can’t always remember what we have in our fridge, so it’s best to make a list. This way we only get what we need! There’s probably something yummy in our fridge that’s been waiting to be baked, roasted, steamed, sautéed, you name it!
2. Be realistic about how much food you will consume during the week. If you know that you or your household will eat a lot of bananas during the week then it's justified buying enough to last the week. Any bruised or over ripe ones can go into a cake! But if you know that you’re the only one who likes bananas in your household, then maybe just buy enough for yourself. Sometimes it can work better to buy less and more often, than buy more and less frequently, depending on your lifestyle. This means we are purchasing as we need and not allowing our food items too much time to perish or decline in quality, and consequently enter the waste system.
3. Use it up! Have a designated night of the week where you plan to use up any of the fruit, veg and odd bits and pieces that are still sitting in your fridge from the last week or two. This can be a lot of fun, it's a great chance to experiment and to actually look at what you do and don't consume in your fridge and pantry. There are so many ways you can repurpose your items and invent something uniquely tasteful and nutritious. OzHarvest created a tape called ‘Use It Up’ with the aim of making it fun and easy to see what needs to be eaten up in your fridge. This tool makes ‘using it up’ simple, you could even make your own tape!
4. Implement your own food waste system. FOGO, Bokashi and backyard composting are all easy and inexpensive methods. FOGO bins (stands for Food Organics Garden Organics) are offered by a number of Victorian Councils (check your local council page to find out more or give them a ring) and waste contractors, and Bokashi bins and home composting kits and resources can be purchased online or via an outdoor living, homewares and/or gardening retailer such as Bunnings, Mitre 10 or your local independent retailer. Composting is one of the best things you can do for the soil. It’s a form of feeding our soils, they get hungry too! In any given teaspoon of healthy soil there exists over 7 million examples of life, that’s more life than people on Earth. Compost helps to feed and nurture soil ecosystems, plus it smells delicious! Chocolate-cakey goodness, yes please!
5. Have a think about whether your neighbours might like your fruit and veg scraps. Does anyone down the street or around the corner have a compost pile? Maybe your neighbours have chickens or rabbits? Draw on your community. They may say ‘no, thanks’, but they may say ‘yes, please!’ It’s always worth asking, and who knows, you might even get an enjoyable chin wag out of it too!
6. Preserve it! Make a jam, stew it, pickle it, dry it, dehydrate it, or freeze it! There are so many preserving options out there for you to experiment with or simply store your food items for when you’re ready to use them up. Preserving our food is a great way to buy us a little or a lot of extra time to consume our food, not to mention they taste pretty damn delicious.
7. Store your food items appropriately. Make sure your food items are stored in the appropriate places e.g. fridge, freezer, at room temperature, in a paper bag, in a container etc. Avocados for example can be kept at room temperature, but once cut open it’s best to store them in the fridge in a container with some lemon squeezed over them to prevent them from browning. Small little tricks like this can go a long way!
8. Understand your food! Sometimes we forget how long it takes for something to ripen or to rot. So, having an understanding of our food means we are more likely to purchase and eat produce when it’s at its peak quality wise. This way we avoid forgetting about expiry dates thus permitting items to spoil. This principle extends to pantry food items, dairy and meat products.
They all have expiration and best before dates, so getting really familiar with this language and what they actually mean is key. Remember that ‘best before’, ‘use by’ or ‘sell by’ just means that the item won’t be at its optimum post the date labelled on the packaging or sticker. It does not mean however that you cannot eat it post this date, just that it may not taste as good as it could. Ultimately, anything with ‘best before’ or the like has a longer shelf life than dictated by the date on the label or sticker. On the other hand, ‘expires by’ or ‘expiry’ is communicating the last day of which the product is safe to consume. One could eat it after this date; although, it is not recommended, but up to your discretion, it may be perfectly edible if you’re keen to try it!
9. Buy seasonal. Buying seasonal means that you are, again, buying fruit and veg that is in its prime at that particular time of year as that is when it naturally fruits. For example, buying oranges, tangelos and mandarins will taste better in winter compared to summer, spring and autumn because winter is their natural fruiting season. Therefore, they are more likely to have a longer shelf life and less likely to be thrown in the bin at the risk of tasting foul, going off early or not ripening well. Take a look at this Australian seasonal food guide!
10. Grow your own food! There are a bunch of things that you can grow in your garden or in the kitchen. Growing your own food, particularly staple items like lemons, herbs and lettuce can be a great way of gaining access to fresh produce without having to purchase large amounts of food items that you won’t use up. For example, when you need a few sprigs of mint or parsley to sprinkle into a dish or put in a smoothie, but don’t need the full $4 or $5 bunch we would pay for at the grocery store (we’ve all been there before!), you can rely on your bounty of homegrown lush produce lining your kitchen windowsill or calling to you from the backyard patch. When it’s growing in your home you can pick as you please (without the waste), you’re looking after your pocket, and it’s a fun way to engage with your food!
Our food continues to be a resource long after it is consumed by us (whether it’s feeding the soil, contributing to a new meal or being upcycled into a compostable bag), which I think by now you can see and hopefully find an exciting prospect! We can and should be doing a lot more to treasure it across our homes, work environments and public spaces and places. To waste not, want not means to use a resource carefully and without extravagance in order to avoid ever being in need. This is the gentle and conscious approach we need to embrace if we want to use it wisely, truly reap the rewards of our love and labour and most importantly, nurture this one wild and precious planet.
Food Waste Resources
- The Rogue Ginger (Waste-Free living blog)
- ‘War on Waste’ Craig Reucassel on ABC iView
- OzHarvest webpage and annual reports
- ‘A Family Guide to Waste Free Living’ by Lauren & Oberon Carter
