Reduce your food waste

The majority of food waste in Australia comes from our homes.

Australian households waste 2.5 million tonnes of food each year, or more than four kilograms per household per week.

Organic material makes up about half of what Queenslanders throw away in their wheelie bin each week.

Approximately 1.8 million tonnes of food waste were generated in Queensland in 2016–17, with a third of it coming from households. That’s millions of dollars’ worth of food being wasted.

By the end of the decade, Australia has a national target to halve food waste.

The Australian economy loses $36.6 billion per year due to food waste. Households account for around 50 per cent of this.

Food waste is avoidable and can reduce costs for households. Australian households spend between $2,000–$2,500 per year on food that is wasted.

Stop spending money on food only to throw it away. Prepare only what you need, store food appropriately and use your leftovers.

When disposed to landfill, organic matter, including food waste, contributes to climate change.

Although organic waste is often seen as ‘natural’, when it breaks down it releases methane, a greenhouse gas that has a global warming potential between 28 and 36 times that of carbon dioxide.