Curbing food waste could save Aussie families up to $3800 each year

More than half of discarded food scraps could have been eaten, new research shows, with families able to save thousands of dollars per year if they reduce their food waste.

Emily Paddon Brown and her daughter Molly, 4, baking in their kitchen at home in Coburg. Picture: David Geraghty

Aussie families could save up to $3800 every year if they curbed their food waste, prompting a federal government plan to tackle the problem.

As part of the national goal to halve food waste over the next decade, a new body will be set up to drastically reduce wastage along the food chain and to make it easier for parents.

The $4m Stop Food Waste initiative will engage farmers, retailers, governments of all levels and individuals with a focus on prevention, reuse and innovation.

More than half the scraps that end up in Victorian bins every year could have been eaten, according to research.

Environment Minister Sussan Ley said the body would help create a unified response to the problem.

“Australians have focused on recycling for years, but very few of us think about the amount of food that we waste every week,” Ms Ley said.

“Every year, we throw away more than 7.3 million tonnes of food at a cost to the economy of more than $20 billion and on average, households are throwing away up to $3800 of food a year.”

The new body will bring together key organisations including the Australian Institute of Packaging, the National Farmers Federation, the National Retail Association,

Sustainability Victoria and OzHarvest.

One of the goals for the group will be to get clearer instructions adding to packaging about how to store good to give it a longer life.

Coburg mum Emily Paddon-Brown has been talking her daughter Molly, 4, about the importance of being as sustainable as possible.

She plans meals ahead of time, cooks for the week ahead and always checks what she has before going to the shops.

“I am focused on minimising my waste and being efficient,” Ms Paddon-Brown said.

“It’s about looking at what I have and what I need when it comes to planning meals.”

Dating and labelling reusable food containers, buying in-season produce and freezing leftovers have also helped cut down on packaging and waste.

“It means we are not always buying packaged foods,” Ms Paddon-Brown said.

“It’s important to do what you can.”

Stop Food Waste Australia chief executive Dr Steven Lapidge said he had real hope the initiative could make a difference.

“We’ve got a passionate and committed group of Australian food industry leaders around the table, with direct connections across the entire supply chains,” he said.

“Between all our partners, we work across the entire food supply chain and that is exactly what is needed to tackle the system-wide problem of food waste here in Australia.”

@tamsinroses