Love Food Hate Waste is a collaboration between the Waste Management Institute New Zealand (WasteMINZ), the Ministry for the Environment and 59 councils from around New Zealand, with the aim to reduce the amount of food households are sending to landfill each year.

In New Zealand, households throw away 122,547 tonnes of food annually at a cost of $872 million. That is enough food to feed the population of Dunedin for two years. The average Kiwi family wastes more than three shopping trolleys of food, which they throw away each year uneaten.

Food waste is a rising topic on the global agenda with United Nations Environmental Programme estimating that one third of the food produced globally for human consumption is wasted. That equates to 1.3 billion tonnes of food, which is never consumed, yet 795 million people worldwide are malnourished.

Last year, UN leaders dined on a banquet of food that would have otherwise been wasted to highlight how food waste is an overlooked aspect of climate change. If food waste was a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind China and the United States.

These facts have spurred a global movement to reduce food waste with the United States calling for a 50% reduction of its national food waste by 2030. It is now illegal for supermarkets in France to throw away unsold food. Instead they must donate edible food to charities that distribute it to those in need.

Auckland Deputy Mayor, Penny Hulse, says the Love Food Hate Waste campaign can have a positive impact on both household finances and the environment. “New Zealanders have embraced the recycling message – although there is always more we can do to prevent waste to landfill.”

In addition to the Love Food Hate Waste website, there will be events happening around the country over the course of the three-year campaign to get people involved in combatting food waste. The first of these is the Great Persimmon Rescue in the Waikato on Sunday 5 June.

Waikato Councils will work with volunteers and Community Fruit Harvesting to pick 20 tonnes of persimmons that would otherwise be left to rot in the orchard. The fruit, along with information on how to store and eat it, will be distributed to food banks in the region. Countdown is supporting the initiative by supplying a truck to transport the fruit to the Auckland City Mission.

The Love Food Hate Waste website, which will also launch on 1 June, will feature helpful tips, storage guides and recipes, including recipes from Annabel Langbein, Allyson Gofton and Dr Libby Weaver.

For more information, visit: www.lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz