The Mid-Western Region is part of the NSW Government’s Love Food Hate Waste program, attempting to cut down unnecessary food waste across the state.

“It’s recognised that food waste is a big problem - it is the single largest component of household bins in NSW,” said Mid-Western Regional Council general manager Warwick Bennett.

The average NSW household throws away more than $1000 worth of food per year, adding up to 800,000 tonnes of food discarded across the state annually, worth more than $2.5 billion.

Over a year, households across the state discard $848 million in fresh food, $371 million in packaged and long-life products and $180 million in take-aways.

Although about 18 per cent of local respondents were so well organised with their food management that they don’t need to throw any food away, a worrying three quarters threw away fresh food that had gone off. 

The NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) says storing food correctly – ensuring fridges and freezers are working well and appropriate containers, jars and tools are used – will help it stay fresher for longer, reducing the chance that it will go to waste. 

The EPA says planning is the most important step.

The survey of the Mid-Western Region found that nearly 90 per cent of respondents wrote shopping lists, but only 34.8 per cent stuck to their lists. 

The EPA urged consumers to check the contents of the fridge and cupboards before shopping, and to make a detailed list to avoid buying unnecessary food that will be spoiled or wasted.

In general, though, the high number of respondents growing their own fruit and vegetables showed that residents were reasonably self-sufficient.

Thirty-eight per cent of residents kept chooks for their own eggs, and three per cent even had cows to produce their own dairy products.

The children at Lue School, for example, have established a garden and a small orchard called the “food forest”, and invite their neighbours to enjoy some of their harvest of carrots, spinach, chives, broccoli, chilli, garlic and more.

The students also keep chickens, providing the school with eggs and developing students’ maths and science skills as they construct their own chicken coop. The chickens ensure that nothing is wasted in the Lue garden, eating the school’s food scraps and providing manure to fertilise the garden.

Many of the children also have vegetable gardens at home, some growing tomatoes and one student claiming to grow the world’s hottest chillis.

The survey showed that unwanted food in the Mid-Western Region was most commonly fed to animals, and while half the respondents threw unwanted food in the bin, only 45 per cent made the effort to compost it. 

“Even unavoidable food waste doesn’t have to go to landfill,” Mr Bennett said. “Think of another creative option.” 

The survey asked respondents to give their most creative solution to wasted food, which included using fruit and vegetables that were past their best as stamps for kids’ arts and craft, and serving up leftovers to the daughter-in-law. 

The most creative answer came from Jayne Leary, who suggested using crumbs in the bottom of cereal packets in place of breadcrumbs in recipes including rissoles and au gratins.