In the UK, one third of the food we buy we never eat – sad isn't it?

That's a staggering 6.7 million tonnes of food that ends up in landfill each year, much of which could have been eaten.

It doesn’t make sense, it is a waste of money and it adds to climate change.

With a few simple steps and planning, you can still enjoy the meals you love but not end up with lots of things that you don't know how to use.

Click here for our simple shopping guide and menu planner which will help to plan your weekly meals reduce your food waste.

Also, following the simple steps below while you do your weekly shop will help you reduce food waste: 

• avoid over packaged foods – buy loose fruit and vegetables where possible – this will help you just get what you need 
• if you are buying food in packaging – try to find packaging that is recyclable locally or packaging that is biodegradable or made from recycled materials 
• don’t always be tempted by ‘two for one’ offers, particularly if you are using unusual ingredients, just buy what you need for the recipe 
• make sure that you have good storage methods to keep things fresh 
• think about the meals you will make and try to share ingredients between them 
• keep an eye on ‘use by’ dates and use this to guide your menu planning 
• pride yourself on using everything up!

To find out more about how to reduce your food waste, click on the links below: 

• perfect portions - cooking just the right amount 
• meal planning and food facts – save you time and money 
• recipes to use up spare food 
• food storage - tips and tools

But there are always going to be tea bags, peelings and apple cores left over so click here to find out more about recycling food waste and home composting.