Nearly half of Wellington Region’s household food waste is edible

Kāpiti residents have been asked to ’fess up to the amount of perfectly good food they are throwing into their bins.

A recent study by WasteNot Consulting reveals that the average family in the Wellington Region throws away $599 worth of edible food per year. This food wastage was discovered when an audit was undertaken to find out exactly what foods New Zealanders were throwing away and why.

“We have known for some time that over 20% of the rubbish collected from the kerbside in Kāpiti is food waste,” Simon Calcinai, Council’s Waste Minimisation & Services Officer, says.

“What came as a surprise was the amount of food that was still edible. Whole loaves of bread, unopened yoghurts and uneaten apples are just some of the foods that have been found in audits across the country.” 

Council has been part of a nationwide project which surveyed 1,365 people and investigated 1,402 rubbish bins, to find out why food is being wasted and what can be done about it. The results found that 27% of households admit to being large food wasters and throw out more than $21 per week of edible food, whilst 38% of households admit to wasting $8 per week.”

“Only 10% of households declared they waste nothing at all,” Mr Calcinai says.

“In response to these findings, councils across the country are involved in a campaign called ‘LoveFoodHateWaste’ to help families reduce the amount of food they waste.”

There are some quick and easy things that can people can do to reduce food waste and save money.

• Store your bread in the freezer instead of on the counter to stop it going mouldy or drying out.
• Stew up any excess fruit you have that might be going soft or blend it up into a smoothie.
• Check your fridge before you go shopping to see what needs using up.
• Turn your leftover vegetables into a frittata or make some fried rice.

For more information on how to reduce your food waste go to: https://www.facebook.com/lovefoodhatewastenz

For more information on the Love Food Hate Waste Campaign please contact: [email protected]