Check what food you have before you shop

Small acts are all it takes to make a big impact

The best way to reduce food waste is to avoid it in the first place. Check what food you already have at home before going to the shops to:

• help plan your meals for the week around the ingredients you have at home
• save money because you avoid buying food you already have
• save good food from going to waste, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and the use of valuable resources.

It’s a small act with a big impact on Victoria’s sustainable future.

Why it matters

Food waste in Victoria

• Each year, Victorian households throw away 250,000 tonnes of edible food – enough to fill Melbourne’s Eureka Tower.
• The average household in Victoria throws away $2,600 a year in wasted food.
• Almost two thirds of the food Victorian households throw away could have been eaten.

(Sustainability Victoria, Path to Half Report, 2020)

The environmental impact

Food thrown into your general rubbish bin ends up in landfill. Food in landfill breaks down in a way that creates greenhouse gases, including methane, which affects air quality and public health.

When we waste food, we also waste the resources used to grow food (water, soils and energy) and all the energy used to process, package and transport food from farms to markets to our homes.