UK households throw away around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste a year, and over two-thirds of this waste could have been eaten.
At Junk-It, we’re passionate about reducing waste. It’s why we are proud to divert over 85% of items collected during household clearances from the landfill.
In this guide, we go through ways to reduce food waste and its impact on the environment.
Cutting food waste at home – By eco-conscious rubbish removal experts
Checking the fridge before each supermarket shop and planning meals around what’s already in it cuts the amount of food you throw away.
Check the freezer and cupboards too, then write a shopping list for what you still need.
Plan around ingredients that need using soon.
If a recipe only needs half a bag of spinach, choose another meal that uses the rest.
Buying loose fruit and veg can also help when a large pack would be more than you’ll eat.
Cooking the right amount
Measure rice and pasta before you cook, using the portion guidance on the packet as a starting point.
If you’re regularly scraping food off plates, try serving less and let people help themselves to more.
Cooking extra can be useful if you have a plan for it.
Put spare portions into small containers so they cool quickly, then refrigerate or freeze them once cooled.
Don’t leave cooked food at room temperature for more than two hours so it doesn’t go off.
Storage and leftovers
Keep your fridge between 0°C and 5°C and follow the storage instructions on food packaging.
Move items that need eating soon to somewhere you’ll see them, rather than leaving them at the back of a shelf.
Eat refrigerated leftovers within two days, or freeze them if you won’t use them in time.
Defrost food in the fridge and use it within 24 hours of defrosting. Reheat it only once, until steaming hot throughout.
Rice needs extra care: cool it quickly, ideally within an hour, then refrigerate it and use it within 24 hours. These timings follow food safety guidance on storing and reheating leftovers.
Freeze bread in slices so you can take out what you need. Peeled, overripe bananas can be frozen for banana bread or smoothies.
Understanding food dates
A use-by date is about safety.
Don’t eat food past that date, even if it looks or smells fine. If you won’t use it in time, freeze it on or before the use-by date, following the packaging instructions.
A best-before date is about quality. Food may still be suitable after that date, depending on the product and how it’s been stored.
Check its condition and any instructions on the label before deciding to throw it away.
What happens to food waste in landfill
Food and other organic waste can rot without air in landfill, producing methane, a greenhouse gas.
Wasted food also means wasted resources: water and energy have already gone into growing, processing, transporting and cooking it.
Using more of the food you buy helps reduce those emissions as well as the amount going in your bin.
Recycling scraps is useful, but it can’t recover all the resources used to produce food that could have been eaten.
Recycling food waste instead of binning it
Where food waste collections are available, use your council’s caddy for scraps you can’t eat.
Cooked and raw leftovers, peelings and bones are commonly accepted. Remove food packaging and keep liquids such as milk and cooking oil out.
Make sure to use compostable bags rather than black bin bags, as plastic bags can’t degrade.
Food waste collected for anaerobic digestion goes into a sealed tank, where the organic material breaks down without air. This produces biogas, containing methane and carbon dioxide, which can generate renewable energy.
The remaining material, called digestate, can be used as fertiliser.
Some collections go to composting facilities instead. Your council can tell you where the contents of your food caddy are processed.
Home composting suits fruit and veg peelings, coffee grounds, eggshells and garden clippings.
Keep cooked food, meat and dairy out of an ordinary open compost bin because they can attract pests.
Food waste in restaurants and hospitality
Food businesses in Scotland producing 5kg or more of food waste a week must take all reasonable steps to arrange separate collection, unless the rural exemption applies.
Check the Scottish food waste requirements for your premises when arranging a collection.
If you run a restaurant or other hospitality business, a simple waste management plan can help you see where avoidable waste comes from.
Weigh preparation scraps, spoiled stock and food left on plates separately, and record which service they came from.
Those records can help you adjust orders and portions.
If the same side dish keeps coming back uneaten, reduce the serving size or offer it separately. Where you regularly have surplus food that’s still safe to eat, ask a local redistribution scheme what it accepts.
Clearing out a fridge or kitchen
Before an old fridge or freezer is collected, empty it and follow the manufacturer’s defrosting instructions.
Move food that’s still safe to keep into another working fridge or freezer. S
eparate unwanted food from its packaging and dispose of it through the options your council provides.
Fridges contain refrigerants that need specialist handling, so they can’t go in the general waste.
We collect old fridges and freezers across Glasgow and Edinburgh, and our fridge removal in Glasgow service includes the lifting and carrying.
We don’t collect food waste, so the appliance needs to be empty when we arrive.
Full kitchen clear-outs
On an end of tenancy clearance, we can take appliances and bulky furniture.
You don’t need to hire a skip, so there’s no need to arrange a permit and handle the lifting yourself.
Let us know what needs removing when you ask for a quote, including any large items upstairs or in awkward spaces.
Our eco-friendly junk removal service looks for opportunities to reuse and recycle the items we collect.
Usable furniture and appliances can go on to another home, while materials suitable for recycling are separated for processing.
FAQs on how to reduce food waste
What happens to food waste after it’s collected?
It can go to an anaerobic digestion plant to produce biogas and fertiliser, or to a composting facility. The treatment route depends on your local collection service.
What can’t you put in a food waste bin?
Keep food packaging, liquids, cooking oil, soil and pet litter out. Your council’s accepted-items list will explain any local restrictions, including which bags or liners you can use.
Does food waste need to be bagged?
Follow your council’s instructions. Some require food to be bagged or wrapped, while others accept it loose. Approved liners vary too: a bag accepted by one council may be unsuitable for another, so don’t assume that either plastic or compostable bags are accepted everywhere.
Do businesses have to separate food waste in Scotland?
Food businesses producing 5kg or more a week generally need a separate collection. There is an exemption for qualifying rural premises; check whether it applies to your address before making arrangements.
Can I compost food waste at home?
Yes, if you have space for a suitable bin. Fruit and veg peelings, coffee grounds and eggshells can go in an ordinary home compost bin. Use your council’s food collection, where available, for accepted scraps that aren’t suitable for home composting.
Fridge packed up or kitchen to clear? Contact the Junk-It team today
Tell us which appliances or bulky items need to go and we’ll quote for the job, collect them and sweep up after.
Junk-It covers Glasgow, Edinburgh and across Central Scotland.
Call us on 0141 433 4330 for a free quote with no obligation. If you need an old fridge removed quickly, ask about our same-day and next-day availability.
