There is plenty of reasons on why you should cut down on food waste. The main important one is it helps the environment as it reduces methane emissions from landfills and also lowers carbon footprint. Also it helps you save on your food bill. The UN’s food and agriculture organization estimates 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted or lost every year.

• Plan your meals. Buy food that you only need as most fresh foods come with a really short sell by date. Try to organise your fridge with the short sell by dates first instead of putting them to the back, they will often go bad as you might not look at the dates eventually you having to throw them away.

• Make your shopping list before going shopping so you don’t indulge in things you don’t need. Doing this will help you plan out what you need for the weekly meals so you can save money. Also only buy what you need as if you buy more you might not cook it during the week and will end up throwing it away.

• Check the use by dates before purchasing. If you just pick what you need without checking the sell by dates, you might end up going home and checking them when it’s too late to eat as they have gone well past its date.

• Save your leftovers. Do not throw them away. Saving your leftovers is a great option to save on food waste. You can always warm it up later to eat or eat them for a snack.

• Pack your own lunches instead of buying on a whim. Packing your own lunch will help you save money. If you buy food from takeaways etc you might get to much as it is a fact that when your hungry you always over buy or indulge in the things you won’t be able to eat.