‘Use It Up!’ | OzHarvest’s New Campaign Tackles Food Waste At Home

Climate Action Starts In The Kitchen!

Did you know that around one-third of all food on Earth is wasted, and 70% of this food is perfectly edible? When we talk about climate change, the issue of food waste is often overlooked — but the reality is that food waste is responsible for ​​8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than extracting oil, producing plastic, and flying.  

This is why OzHarvest is kicking into action with their brand new campaign, ‘Use It Up’, which aims to tackle unnecessary food waste in the home! Especially since Australia’s national target to halve food waste by 2030 is rapidly approaching.

“People are blown away when they learn the number one thing they can do to take climate action starts right now in their kitchen,” says Ronni, OzHarvest Founder and CEO.

Aussie Households Waste 2.5 Million Tonnes Of Food  

OzHarvest’s Use It Up campaign is designed to tackle the 2.5 million tonnes of food waste that comes from our households every year, which is around 312kg per person! If you’re thinking that it’s just an environmental issue, think again. Food waste actually costs our economy around $36.6 billion per year.  

The Use It Up campaign is encouraging all of us to fight food waste by using up food items in our fridge and pantry — before it expires, grows mould, or starts smelling funky!

“Tackling household food waste is the low hanging fruit and where we can get results, fast! Not everyone can afford an electric car or solar panels, but reducing the amount of food we waste is something we are all able to do,” says Ronni.

Halving Household Food Waste | Which Behaviours Matter?

So, which are the most impactful behaviours to halve our household food waste? To answer this question, OzHarvest teamed up with BehaviourWorks at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute. This fascinating analysis measured behaviours deemed ‘High/Low Impact’ and ‘High/Low Likelihood’ — the High Impact & High Likelihood behaviours provided the foundation for the Use It Up campaign. 

The most impactful way households can reduce their waste is to Use It Up — a simple behaviour that can save food, save money and save the planet!,” says Ronni. This looks like having a ‘use it up’ shelf in the fridge/pantry, freezing excess food, storing leftovers and checking your fridge/pantry before food shopping.

Break Bad Habits With The Use It Up Tape!

If you saw the words “USE ME UP, PICK ME, EAT ME,” you’re probably more likely to notice it — right? This is the idea behind OzHarvest’s Use It Up Tape! 

The reusable tape can be used in your fridge, freezer, or pantry to mark a shelf for food that needs using up, and it can be stuck on individual items like avocados, strawberry punnets, or bags of leafy greens. For a limited time, you can get the Use It Up Tape free from the OzHarvest website!

“Use It Up has the biggest potential to shift the dial, with families immediately noticing how much food they saved. The tape is a great family communication and meal planning tool, and acts as a daily prompt to change behaviour,” says BehaviourWorks lead researcher, Mark Boulet.

Even Famous Chefs Love To Use It Up!

To promote the Use It Up campaign, OzHarvest has partnered up with Chef Ambassadors, Neil Perry AM and Colin Fassnidge! That’s right, even culinary experts and celebrity food judges need to use up old groceries in the fridge. 

“As a chef, I hate the thought of any food going to waste, as a Dad I know the challenges of managing the household fridge! Spending so much time at home in lockdown means I am generally using up something every day. My Use It Up advice is you don’t always need a recipe, just experiment with your cooking – your family will tell you what works!” says Colin.

For Neil, a jazzed-up version of bubble and squeak is his go-to recipe; “it’s something my Dad always used to cook, and you can use up most of what you have in the fridge!” says Neil.