The Great Unwaste campaign
Each year, Australian households throw out nearly 2.5 million tonnes of food, with over half still edible. This is the equivalent of 7.7 million meals going to waste daily. This not only negatively impacts our environment, but also means the average Australian household spends up to $2,500 annually on food that never reaches the table.
Diverting food waste from landfill through home composting or FOGO helps, but about 57 per cent of this waste was once edible – so let’s do better than the bin! With food waste having a bigger impact on the environment than many realise, it’s not just greenhouse gas emissions from landfill that we’ll be reducing. Unwasting food also saves valuable resources like water, energy and land.
The solution to turn food waste around
The Great Unwaste is Australia’s first nationwide behaviour change campaign helping households reduce food waste at home. Developed by End Food Waste Australia (EFWA), the campaign empowers people to take everyday actions that reduce waste and save money. The campaign is informed by years of research, including specific insights into Western Australian practices around food planning, shopping, storage, preparation and disposal. The Department has been working with EFWA since 2019 and are proud to continue the collaboration in bringing The Great Unwaste to WA, working closely on the campaign strategy and creative content to meet the needs of Western Australians.
Why join The Great Unwaste?
Australia aims to halve food waste throughout the supply chain by 2030. Industry actions like EFWA’s Australia Food Pact are helping, but we cannot reach our national target without also reducing food waste at home.
Surprisingly, households generate the largest share – about 32 per cent of all food waste. The great news is 76 per cent of Australians want to reduce their food waste and are looking for help to get started – that's where your local government comes in.
How to join?
The team behind The Great Unwaste have created a dedicated, free-to-access Partner Hub for local governments and community organisations to access. It’s full of co-brandable campaign creatives and guidance materials that your team can utilise to get active in helping your community tackle food waste in their homes. The Great Unwaste complements existing initiatives like WasteSorted and Be a GREAT Sort, allowing your local government to integrate The Great Unwaste into your community education programs straight away!
We encourage stakeholders to register their organisation with The Great Unwaste Partner Hub to gain access the full suite of resources, including information about how you can get local legends to create user generated social media content: Welcome to The Great Unwaste — Let’s turn food waste around.
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