In total, 8.3 million tonnes of food and drink waste is thrown away by households each year, most of which could have been eaten. This is enough food to fill Wembley Stadium with food waste 8 times over!

Food and drink which we throw away ends up in landfill where it produces methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas. However this is ony part of the picture as producing, storing and transporting food uses energy. By reducing the amount of food we waste, 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide could be saved, the equivalent of taking 1 in 4 cars off the road.

However, in the last year the Love Food Hate Waste campaign has helped lead to a nationwide saving of nearly £400 million of food, with the 2 million households who have reduced their waste preventing 725,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases being emitted.

Why not try some of the tips below to reduce your food waste and save some money.

• Write a shopping list - by checking your store cupboard, fridge and freezer, you can plan your shopping, and buy what you need.
• Plan menus - why not take the stress out of cooking by planning your meals for the week. Visit lovefoodhatewaste.com to download their menu planner and shopping list templates.
• Perfect your portions! Try lovefoodhatewaste.com portion calculator to cook the right amount of food for yourself and others at mealtimes.
• Storage heroes By using our fridges and freezers we can all keep food for longer. Why not visit us at one of our events throughout the summer to claim a free fridge thermometer and food clip to help preserve food.
• Know your dates! Food can be eaten right up to a ‘sell-by’ date or frozen. ‘Best before’ dates are for quality so no need to throw out food on that date – eggs being the exception.
• Lovely Leftovers! Get creative with leftovers to save money and make what’s in the fridge go further. Why not use your leftovers as a free lunch, by taking them to work with you.

Recipe competition suggestions

Why not try some of the suggestions sent in for the recipe competition. Simply click on the leftover recipes document at the bottom of the page for lots of suggestions for meat, vegetables, fish and desserts.