Zero Waste Food

Food waste makes up half of what Taranaki households send to landfill. Not only this, but the packaging that came with that food is a significant part of the second half of our rubbish bins. This offers a huge potential to reduce our waste, not only in terms of converting organic waste into compost, but looking at the food we are purchasing and choosing brands that have either no packaging or packaging which can be composted or recycled.

Our food waste is massive in NZ: enough to feed Dunedin for 3 years, worth $1.17bn’s each year. Cutting it simply needs us to plan our buying and use; know the right portions, use good storage, use leftovers and scraps, and preserve what is in the garden now.

Plan shops, use and portions

The portion rules are simple. You can check out this short video for more details.

  • Meat - the palm of your hand and thickness of a deck of cards (100g)

  • White fish - the size of your hand laid flat (160g)

  • Uncooked spinach - two double handfuls

  • Other vegetables - a balled fist

  • Small fruits - two cupped hands

Remember to check out what is lurking at the back of the fridge and freezer and plan it in to the week.

Store well

Check out the golden rules of food storage for bread (fridge/ freezer), bananas (away from other fruits) and vegetables (suitable containers and potatoes away from onions):

  • ‘Use by’ dates tell you when the food is safe to eat.

  • ‘Best before’ dates simply tell you the food is best before that date. After then, ask yourself: does it look OK, does it smell OK, does it taste OK?

  • Click here for what else you need to know and a short video.

Use off-cuts, peelings and leftovers for tasty, filling meals and treats;

It’s amazing how we can use off-cuts, peelings and leftovers.

Crispy chips/ matchstick fries from potato/ kumara peelings, sliced beetroot, chopped carrots or cauliflower stems. Crunchy crutons from stale bread. Add herbs, seasoning, olive oil and bake. Making bread pudding is a sweet option too.

Finely slice cauliflower or broccoli stems and grab selected leftovers for stews, soups, curries, pasta sauces or pies. Use Cauliflower leaves and spinach stems in stir fries.

Bananas gone too far? Uneaten lunchbox fruit? Peel, freeze and later blend with cocoa powder, berries, veggie off-cuts for a treat - or bake a cake!

And of course why make work by peeling if you don’t need to.

The list is endless. Check out these tips or google for simple ideas and see how little food waste you are left with.

Preserve what’s in season

Finally don’t waste what is in season. Pick those apples, lemons, fejioas, herbs and greens. If you can’t use them now, freeze and preserve. It’s amazing how easy it is to make tasty stewed fruit, spicy sauces, curds and pickles. Check out these videos.

Composting your waste food

Composting is an easy way to turn what would otherwise produce greenhouse gases in landfill into a valuable resource. It’s a key action that Taranaki residents can undertake at home, and will help you grow more food in your garden! Check out our composting guide for details.

Feed the chooks

Another easy way to prevent your food waste going to landfill is to get some backyards chooks. Not only will they entertain the kids, they will turn that waste in to eggs for the kitchen and fertilizer for the garden. For local chook information and suppliers see our keeping animals page.

Check your purchasing

A huge amount of the non-organic waste from our households comes from food packaging. While some of this can be recycled, there is also a lot that cannot. What can we do? Change how we shop. Every time we purchase an item at the supermarket or grocery store we are voting for that product. Is it a good purchase for the environment?

Sometimes a few small changes can make all the difference. If there is more than one brand for the item you are looking for, are there differences in their packaging?

  • Choose unwrapped produce and use a reusable produce bag to purchase them in.

  • Purchase bulk items such as nuts and seeds from a bulk bin using your own containers.

  • Buy your milk at a local milk supplier, such as Beach Road Milk or Dolly’s Milk. There you can take in your own reusable bottle.

  • Choose recyclable packaging over non-recyclable, such as cardboard over soft plastics.

  • Choose compostable packaging over recyclable packaging - you can do it at home.

  • Choose glass containers over recyclable plastic containers - they can be recycled indefinitely whereas plastics cannot.

  • No good option available? How about making it at home (bread, crackers, yogurt etc.) or just not buying it? You can also contact your favourite food brands and encourage them to do better with their packaging, letting them know you’ll support them if they make changes.


If you know of other stockists/retailers/suppliers/services or all round fantastic sustainable sources please let us know so that we can include them.