Reduce business food waste

The Australian Government's research into food waste indicates that:

  • Food waste in Australia costs the economy around $36.6 billion each year.
  • Australia wastes around 7.6 million tonnes of food across the supply and consumption chain each year: this equates to about 312kg per person.

Most food waste in business is avoidable and is usually the result of:

  • poor stock management
  • poor food handling
  • incorrect serving sizes.

The good news is that you can make simple changes in your business to reduce the amount of edible food you throw away.

Get involved

Support from Council

Council can work with your business to carry out a food waste review and develop a three-step action plan to help reduce your food waste. A food waste review includes:

  • a review of your stock, processes and waste streams
  • an audit of your business waste.

These actions can help your business to:

  • save money on purchasing and waste disposal costs
  • reduce food waste-related operation costs
  • help the environment by diverting food waste from landfill.

Council may introduce a compost or worm farm system as part the action plan it develops for your business.

Council provides this free service to Eurobodalla business residents only.

Your Business is Food Program

Your Business is Food is part of the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA) Love Food Hate Waste Program. The program aims to support food businesses with simple steps and handy resources to:

  • avoid food waste
  • educate staff and customers
  • promote your business.

Join the program

Sign-up to Your Business is Food to receive:

  • a free toolkit with resources to engage staff and customers, and encourage a more positive approach to food waste
  • guidance from the NSW EPA to review and find out where and how much food your business is wasting
  • suggestions and simple steps you can take to help reduce your food waste.

After six weeks, you will carry out a follow-up review to measure how much your business has reduced its food waste.

Case study: Food Mantra by Wildfire

Since starting Your Business is Food, local business Food Mantra by Wildfire has reduced its food waste by 32 kilograms per week. Wildfire:

  • reviewed their food waste to track and measure the source of their waste
  • developed a plan to reduce this waste. The restaurant:
    • engaged their staff and customers with resources to encourage them to reduce waste
    • reminded customers they can remove unwanted items from their meals - like chips or salad
    • used reusable containers for uneaten food
    • tailored specific parts of their menu to minimise food waste.

More information

To find out more about the Your Business is Food Program, check out these NSW Government Love Food Hate Waste resources:

Contact us

If you have questions about these programs or initiatives, contact Council's Sustainability Education Officer, Alexandra King: