‘Being aware of how much food we waste saves hundreds of euros’

Families can save hundreds of euros a year by keeping a better eye on how much food they throw away, according to researchers at Wageningen University.

Keeping a diary of food wastage stimulates people to throw away up to 20% less food, which can save €400 a year, the researchers said. ‘If people are made aware of what they are doing on a daily basis, they automatically waste less,’ Toine Timmermans told RTL news.

Households which took part in a university-organised experiment were taught a number of tricks to reduce waste. For example, ‘sell by’ dates on food are a quality guarantee to shops, not a sign that food is about to go off, Timmermans said.

People were also encouraged to plan menus and write shopping lists to reduce unnecessary purchases.

Some 12% of fruit and vegetables bought by Dutch households is thrown away as is 11% of the bread, the researchers found.

Research by an environmental research institute earlier this year said the Dutch throw away 10 million slices of bread a day.

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