Welcome to the Love Food Hate Waste diary!
Good luck and have fun!
Every year in the UK
households are throwing
around 7.2 million tonnes
of food and drink.
Of course some of it is peelings, cores and bones, but
most of it is, or once was perfectly good food.
Wasted food has a big impact on climate change. Most
of it ends up in landfill sites where it rots and releases
methane a damaging green house gas. The food we
throw away is also a huge waste of the energy, water
and packaging used in its production, transportation and
storage.
This diary will help you understand more about the food
you are throwing away in your home; the types of foods
you are throwing away, when you’re throwing it away,
and why.
The diary is based over a period of seven days, although
you can keep it for a shorter or longer period.
Filling in the Diary
Each day record the foods that you
throw away after each meal and at
other times of the day, such as in-
between meals or after clearing out
your cupboards, fridge or freezer.
Note down;
• What food you are throwing
away e.g. cereal, toast, ham
sandwich, apple, chicken, pasta
• How much you are throwing
away e.g. handful, ¼ a bowl, a
packet, ½ a plate, a bag, whole
item, peelings
• Where you are throwing the
food away e.g. normal waste
bin, compost bin, council food
waste collection, fed to pet
• Why you are throwing the food
away e.g. gone past use-by
date, cooked too much, served
too much, looks or smells bad
• Or if you haven’t had to throw
away any food why e.g. eaten
out, skipped the meal, saved the
leftovers, no food waste
Once you’ve completed the diary…
• Look back over your diary and try to find ways where you might be able to reduce your food
waste
• Take a look at the tips at the back of the diary and visit lovefoodhatewaste.com for lots more
tips, ideas and recipes to help you reduce your food waste
• Why not repeat the diary after a while to see how successful you have been in reducing your
food waste
