Dietitians: Save Money And The Environment This Clean Up Australia Day

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 05 Jan 2010 - 0:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Going beyond environmentally-friendly shopping bags, and paying more attention to what goes in them, can stop food waste and help save the environment. That's the message from dietitians this Clean Up Australia Day.

According to the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) food wastage not only impacts on the environment, but costs Australian families hundreds of dollars each year.

'Around $5.3 billion worth of food is thrown away by Australians each yeari. And more than half of this is fresh food, such as fruit and vegetables,' said Sandra Murray, an Accredited Practising Dietitian and DAA Spokesperson.

Ms Murray said food waste in Australia comprises 15 per cent of the 20 million tonnes of waste that goes into landfill each year, and the recycling rate for food waste is very low. 'Australian families can cut food waste by changing their eating habits, storing foods properly, and developing skills in meal planning and cooking. Recycling packaging and composting food waste can also make big difference,' said Ms Murray.

Try these tips from the DAA to help reduce food waste and increase recycling:

- To reduce how much food you throw away, plan meals in advance, check what you have already, buy only what you need and chill or freeze leftovers for another day.

- Compost your fruit, vegetable and grain food scraps, or use a worm farm. Compact systems for small spaces like apartments (such as Bokashi bins and small worm farms) are widely available.

- Home-grown vegetables and herbs need no packaging, are fun to grow and good to eat. Grow herbs in pots on a balcony, or start a vegetable patch in the back garden.

- Join a community garden. Contact your local council if more community gardens are needed in your area.

- Select foods with minimal packaging. Buying foods such as rice, pasta, legumes, oats and nuts in bulk saves money too.

- Be a good recycler - have a kitchen bin with a section for recyclables. Ask your council what can be recycled in your area and check packaging for the recycling symbol and code numbers.

- For children's lunchboxes, buy fresh and dried fruit, nuts, and yoghurt in large containers and place into smaller re-usable containers

- Buy a sturdy, re-usable drink bottle to carry water with you.

i Hamilton, C., Denniss R, Baker, D. 2005. Wasteful consumption in Australia. The Australia Institute. Available at URL http:// https://www.tai.org.au/index.php?q=node/16 Accessed 29.10.09

Source
The Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA)

• Additional
• References
• Citations