Scottish households waste £430 on food every year

New research has revealed that the amount of food wasted annually in Scotland is equivalent to £1 billion.

Food is thrown away by households when they have finished meals and have leftovers, or when things have gone out of date in their cupboards.

The Scottish government feel that this unnecessary waste could be prohibited. Organisers of the Food Waste campaign say that a whopping two-thirds of the food and drink thrown away could be used.

The new national food waste campaign has been launched as an attempt to better inform Scottish households about how they can better manage their food, which will help them save money and also prohibit excess waste.

Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said on the launch of the campaign: "The new food waste reduction campaign aims to benefit everyone by providing practical help and advice, it seeks to empower everyone to shop smarter, waste less, save more and help create a greener, cleaner Scotland now and for the future."

The website offers advice including: checking cupboards and writing a list before shopping; planning meals in advance; sensible portion planning; checking date labelling and storage information and using up or freezing leftovers.

Not only is the campaign cost-effective, it is also intended to help reduce emissions.

"It seeks to empower everyone to shop smarter, waste less, save more and help create a greener, cleaner Scotland now and for the future," Mr Lochhead said.

This marries up to Scotland's commitment to climate change targets. The government hopes for a 42 per cent reduction in CO2 by 2020 and an 80 per cent reduction by 2050.

In addition, Scotland hopes to reduce emissions by putting a ban on food waste from landfill by 2020.

Recycling food waste is thought to be much better for the environment than normal waste - as much as seven times more effective.

This campaign is an attempt by the government to give the people of Scotland a practical and usable way to save money and reduce emissions.