- Ahead of Food Waste Action Week 2024 (18th March), a new survey reveals that social media is the go-to source for household waste hacks
- Majority of those surveyed (79 per cent) admit hacks they’ve tried aren’t always as effective as they first appear
- Waitrose reveals the social media hacks that are proven to help reduce food waste
Social media platforms, such as TikTok, are the birthplace of viral recipe trends (Baked Feta Pasta and Pesto Egg-In-A-Hole), and a top source for foodies looking for recipe inspiration or meal prep advice. In the last 7 days alone the hashtags #recipes and #mealprep have been seen 19 million times in the UK on TikTok, with over 1,000 posts dedicated to each.
Social media platforms are now a destination for those searching for kitchen hacks. The hashtag #kitchenhacks has been seen 57 million times on TikTok in the UK in the last month, with videos showing different ways to store food to make it last longer and prepare food in portions to avoid food waste.
Ahead of Food Waste Action Week, (18-24 March), Waitrose commissioned a survey* into household hacks on social media. Results revealed that consumers are increasingly turning to platforms like TikTok to tackle household issues like food waste, with 52 per cent inspired to try a hack after watching one on social media. Despite this, for 21 per cent of these, the hacks didn’t quite live up to expectations – with 79 per cent admitting hacks are not always as effective as they first appear.
When it comes to food waste, 36 per cent have seen content about using leftovers for soups and stocks, while 35 per cent have come across videos about turning stale bread into breadcrumbs. Some respondents even claimed they have used banana peels to polish shoes or leftover fruit to make face masks.
Even with more consumers taking notice of food waste; milk, bread, bananas, and salad leaves are the most discarded foods – with 35 per cent blaming their wasteful habits on forgetting they had certain items. Whereas 29 per cent overestimate portion sizes and 21 per cent overlook labels when shopping.
Ben Thomas, Senior Environment Manager at Waitrose has shared his thoughts on the best food waste hacks spreading across social media.
Firstly, Ben encourages shoppers to buy loose produce where possible.
“Pre-shop planning is a great way to help you choose what you’ll use when doing your weekly shop. It’s always handy bringing a list with you or even taking a photo of the inside of your fridge before heading out.
“Waitrose makes this easier with its in-store counters where you can buy exactly what you need to the nearest gram.”
According to Ben, recipes and TikTok food trends are where the fun can happen. For example, the ever growing trend of air fryers has seen hacks such as leftover mash croquettes and airfryer bubble and squeak using roast leftovers.
“There are lots of handy ways we can all make small changes to reduce the amount of food we waste. Really, if you’re using leftovers for anything, you can’t go wrong!
“However, it’s important that supermarkets also support shoppers taking these steps – whether that’s from the sale of misshapen fruit and veg - known as Wonderfully Wonky at Waitrose - or removing unnecessary packaging.”
Waitrose’s very own Cookery School even has online classes which can help provide inspiration for using up food - such as the whole chicken and how to use it.
Some viral hacks are better than others. For example, putting kitchen paper in bags of salad to absorb condensation has merit, but the most important factor is ventilation. Ben’s advice is to also ensure you put your leaves into a ventilated storage container to make sure there is sufficient air flow.
Likewise, while washing soft fruits in water with bicarbonate of soda is popular online, Ben explained this ‘hack’ could actually shorten the window available to eat the fruit.
“By washing soft fruit and then putting it in the fridge, the moisture can speed up the decomposition process and it’ll quickly end up as mush. If you want to wash your food, do it before eating rather than before storing.”
Finally, know your dates. Ben says “Best-before’, ‘display-by’ and ‘sell-by’ dates can be ignored – ‘use-by’ dates are the only labels which you need to focus on.” In 2022, Waitrose removed best before dates from several hundred items of fresh produce, encouraging shoppers to rely on their senses to determine if a product was still fit to eat.
This year, Food Waste Action Week, Love Food Hate Waste's flagship annual campaign, will be encouraging citizens to 'Choose What You'll Use', highlighting the benefits of buying loose fruit and vegetables and inspiring people to do this wherever they can.
WRAP, the non-profit spear-heading Love Food Hate Waste’s campaign, highlights that 60% of the food that is wasted in the UK is wasted by citizens in their own homes.
Waitrose aims to halve food waste in their operations and supply chains by 2030 and will help customers do so at home by the same date. If you’re looking for inspiration, Waitrose has dedicated food waste pages on their website offering hints and tips on reducing food waste, including zero waste recipes and using up leftovers.
Notes to Editors
- *OnePoll survey carried out between 27th Feb to 4th March 2024 across the UK with 2,000 respondents.
- Waitrose is committed to support customers to buy what they need, and during Food Waste Action Week we are beginning trials to understand how signage and customer communications influences purchase of loose fruit and veg. This trial is part of a wider strategy and pledge to offer more loose fruit and veg in store, which also reduces plastic waste. We are committed to help our customers reduce household food waste, with over 100 lines now packaging free. We look forward to sharing the results of the trials and continuing to help our customers choose what they will use.
- We work with FareShare, a charity dedicated to fighting hunger and reducing food waste across the UK. So far, Waitrose has diverted the equivalent of twenty million meals worth of surplus food with FareShare. Waitrose shops also work with Olio Food Waste Heroes to give away their surplus, in all of our shops where FareShare cannot collect.
- As part of our work with suppliers to identify supply chain food waste hotspots, we have continued the work we conducted last year with WRAP to analyse whole supply chain waste with our suppliers to understand where food is wasted.
