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Cost to the householder

	About a third of the food we buy is thrown in the bin and over half of this could have been eaten.
	Over £889m worth of food is wasted in Scotland each year. That’s an average of £410 per household. For families with children it’s even more – an average of £610 a year.
	The main reasons we waste our food are: We cook or prepare too much food We let our food go past its use-by date or forget we have it.
	The main types of food wasted at home are: Fresh fruit and vegetables Meat and fish Bakery and bread products Dairy
	Less than one fifth of our food waste is truly unavoidable.

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Cost to the environment

	Wasting your food is not only a waste of good food it’s also bad for the environment.
	At the moment most of our food waste is sent to landfill where it emits harmful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
	Around 587,000 tonnes of food waste is thrown out by Scottish households each year.
	About 20% of total UK greenhouse gas emissions come from producing, transporting, preparing and storing food and drink.
	If we stopped wasting all this food, we could prevent the equivalent of 1.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year in Scotland. This is the same as taking 1 in 4 cars off the road.

We can all take steps to reduce our food waste, but some food waste cannot be avoided.  You can compost suitable food waste, such as fruit and vegetable peelings and teabags, at home.  Find out more about how to compost at home.