Food waste

Find out how to reduce your food waste with our Food Savvy campaign.

What’s the problem?

Food waste is a big problem. 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted around the world each year.

Locally in Suffolk we throw away 52,000 tonnes of food every year - about a third of our non-recyclable rubbish!

Recent polling in our region shows that households are keen to tackle this problem too, with most people (80%) feeling frustrated and sad when they throw food, which could have been eaten, in the bin.

A further 70% said they were concerned about their finances and the environment so now is the perfect time to get #FoodSavvy which can save you money and help the planet.

What can we do about it? Get #FoodSavvy

Food Savvy is our campaign to help Suffolk and Norfolk residents reduce their food waste, save money and help the environment.

Working with Norfolk County Council this joint campaign aims to put our region at the forefront of the UK’s efforts to combat food waste. The average East Anglian family can waste up to £730 of food - that’s around £60 a month to be saved by not wasting food! 

Food Savvy’s top 3 tips to reduce your food waste:

  1. Plan like a pro - planning your meals is one of the best ways to stop your food from going to waste
  2. Store it right - Storing food the right way is one of the best ways to help food last longer and taste better
  3. Love your leftovers - turning leftover meals and ingredients into a tasty snack or whole new meal is one of the best ways to make food go further.
Notepad with a shopping list written on

Visit www.foodsavvy.org.uk for lots more information on our top 3 food saving tips, as well as tasty recipes and much more.

Follow our Food Savvy Suffolk social media channels for the latest tips, recipes and more!

Facebook  Food Savvy Suffolk

X (formerly Twitter) Food Savvy Suffolk

Food Savvy aims to reduce household food waste in Suffolk by working with individuals, families, community groups, schools, businesses as well as local chefs and digital influencers across Suffolk and Norfolk.

If you’d like to find out more or get your community group, school or business involved email us at waste.management@suffolk.gov.uk

Community fridges save good food from going to waste by redistributing it to the community. More information here.

Home Composting

Composting food waste at home is a great option for unavoidable food waste such as fruit and veg peelings. There's a variety of compost bins and wormeries available to Suffolk residents at subsidised prices! 

See our home composting page for more information.