Easy ways to cut down on food waste

What we do, what you can do

The UK wastes 9.5 million tonnes of food every single year, but your small actions can make a big difference.

Whether it’s planning your meals better or looking into surplus food, here’s how we’re tackling food waste and how you can too.

What we do…

1. None of our food waste ends up in landfill thanks to waste contractors that take our food waste off site to be composted instead.
2. The excess cooking oil from our kitchens is innovatively turned into biofuel, helping to power delivery vehicles in a more eco-friendly way – how cool!
3. We encourage you to use a reusable cup instead of disposables by giving you up to 35p discount every time you drink sustainably. Don’t have one? You can get a Cardiff University KeepCup from any of our cafés and get your first hot drink for free.
4. We offer surplus food at reduced prices from selected CUFoods cafés and restaurants so you can get a delicious meal whilst helping us reduce food waste on campus, all you need to do is download the Too Good To Go app.
5. We’re giving away bags of used coffee grounds from our cafés for free so you can take them home for your garden or turn them into something amazing – they make fantastic compost and plant food!

What you can do…

1. Save your leftovers: got extra food from last night’s dinner? Don’t throw it away, instead store it properly and eat it the next day or freeze it for a later date. It’ll save you time, waste and money!
2. Buy ‘ugly’ fruits and veg: so many perfectly good fruits and veggies are thrown away simply because they don’t look ‘perfect’. Next time you’re getting your groceries in, choose the wonky carrots and misshapen apples – they’ll taste just as good.
3. Plan your meals: avoid overbuying ingredients that end up going off before you get a chance to use them by planning your meals ahead of time so you can make a shopping list and stick to it.
4. Use food waste apps: choose surplus whenever you can by downloading apps like Too Good To Go and Olio.
5. Get creative: you can always turn food that isn’t fresh into a delicious dish. Think vegetable scraps as stock, over-ripe bananas for banana bread and don’t forget almost anything can be made into a soup!

Cutting down on food waste can be easy, and we’ve made it even easier with our on-campus schemes that help fight food waste while saving you money.

Interested in more? Read about all of the other ways we’re being sustainable on campus.