GLASGOW residents have been challenged to do their bit to cut down on the 41,000 tonnes of food waste the city produces each year.

As part of the What’s In Your Kitchen? campaign by Love Food Hate Waste, two Glasgow locals monitored their kitchen outgoings in a bid to save money and help the environment.

The organisation challenged householders to keep a food waste diary to find out how much food they dispose of each day and how they could potentially improve.

Hailey Thomson from Thornliebank said that her diary has encouraged her to prep her food in advance.

As well as promoting healthy eating through her online business, Hailey is mum to two children aged 4 and 8.

She said: “I became aware of food waste after I gave up the corporate world and started a healthy eating business.

“I started planning during my weekend, planned what I was going to eat that week which involved getting my shopping on a Sunday.

“I prepped all my ingredients and knew what meals we were going to have and I found I wasn’t throwing out as much food as I usually would.

“I stopped finding myself thinking what do I need to go out and buy because things had gone mouldy or whatever which was a better approach.

“I didn’t think I’m wasting that much but the diary has really let me see, and when you’re tracking it you pick up on all the wee things that you wouldn’t notice.

“Its unbelievable what you find that you do throw out.”

Throughout the week, Hailey found herself wasting vegetables that could otherwise be re-used in things like soups or as stock.

Another key finding, was the importance of portion control and reusing food the next day.

“Portion control is important”, she explains.

“My top tip is always just to plan your week. If you buy what you need and use what you buy, I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Spela Raposa, an environmental officer at the University of Strathclyde, and her partner Jonathan are self-confessed recycling enthusiasts but wanted to do more with their food waste.

She said: “We’re both big on recycling but have had some misfortune with our food collection service as the bins are mostly not available, so our food waste ends up in the general bin.”

Through keeping a diary, the pair were surprised to find how quickly there was items to add to it.

“You can always find ways of doing something useful with waste. Our household isn’t too bad in terms of wasting food.

“I try to keep on top of it and keep track of what we have so we can either use it up quickly or freeze it if need be.

“The best thing to do is save up veg peel like potato, garlic and onion skins, as well as veg ends from carrots, courgettes and alike in a bag or tub and freeze.

“You can then make a tasty homemade vegetable stock from it.

“I’ve have found that clearing the fridge before a holiday by donating food to co-workers works well too, everyone ends up happy and nothing is wasted.”

Iain Gulland, Chief Executive, Zero Waste Scotland, added: “Zero Waste Scotland is delighted to have the Evening Times on board with What’s in Your Kitchen to help raise awareness of the extent of food waste in Glasgow, and highlight what readers can do to make the most of the food they love.

“As a nation we waste £1billion worth of good food every year, over two thirds of which could be avoided if we planned, stored and managed it better.

“Everyone has food waste, but by identifying where it arises and taking action to use food up we can all save money as well as doing our bit for the environment.”

To find out more, visit www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/food-waste/whats-in-your-kitchen