$25m of food thrown out each year in Tauranga

40 kilos of food waste found in rubbish bins as part of the Love Food Hate Waste audit. Photo/Supplied

A recent study reveals that every year Tauranga city throws away more than $25 million of edible food.

Across the Bay of Plenty it adds up to $58 million worth of food. Across the whole country over $872 million of edible food is going to landfill each year.

Tauranga City Council has been part of a nationwide project that surveyed 1,365 people and investigated 1,402 rubbish bins to learn how much food is being wasted and what can be done about it.

Tauranga City Council waste minimisation programme leader Rebecca Maiden said sadly, this came as no surprise and it was well known that over 30 per cent of the rubbish placed into kerbside collections is food waste.

Ms Maiden said what did come as a surprise was the amount of food being thrown away that was still edible.

"Whole loaves of bread, unopened yoghurts, uneaten apples are just some of the foods that have been found in audits across the country."

The attached photograph shows 40 kilos of food waste found in rubbish bins as part of the Love Food Hate Waste audit - equivalent to six months' worth of food waste for the average New Zealand household.

The survey results found that 27 per cent of New Zealand households admitted to throwing out more than $21 per week of edible food, while 38 per cent of households admitted to wasting $8 per week of edible food. Only 10 per cent of households declared they wasted nothing at all.

Ms Maiden said while these amounts on their own might not seem significant, it all added up.

Suggestions to reduce food waste:

Store your bread in the freezer instead of on the counter to stop it going mouldy or drying out.

Stew up any excess fruit you have that might be going soft or blend it up into a smoothie.

Check your fridge before you go shopping to see what needs using up.

Turn your leftover vegetables into a frittata, or make some fried rice.