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Food Waste Diary 

Supplied Courtesy of Exodus Research, March 2007.  

 

Introduction 
 

Welcome to the Love Food Hate Waste diary! 

You can use this diary in a number of ways to help you to understand more about the food that is thrown away in your home, and how you might cut this down. You can concentrate on what’s being thrown away, throughout the day or just at main meal times, or you can include an estimate of how much is thrown away. You can also record why you throw away the food, and how you dispose of it. By doing this, and looking back after you’ve completed the diary, you’ll hopefully see where and how you can reduce the amount of food you have to throw away, and also how you might dispose of the food that you can’t avoid throwing away in a more environmentally friendly way (such as in to a compost bin). For help and advice on how to reduce the amount of food you throw away, and what you can do with the unavoidable food waste see lovefoodhatewaste.com 

The diary is based over a period of seven days, although you can keep it for shorter or a longer period, or even repeat the exercise after a while to see how successful your efforts at reducing the amount of food thrown away have been.  

There’s a section at the end where you can record any tips or ideas that have helped you to throw less food away. You can keep this for future reference, or share it with others by sending it to: lovefoodhatewaste.com  

Within the diary is a scale of measurement so you can estimate the quantities of food that you are throwing away. On the following pages there is information on food amounts followed by some examples of completed tables so that you know how to go about filling in the tables. If you skip a meal, eat out or don’t have any food waste on any occasion, please tick the box and give some information on why that particular section or table has not been completed (for future reference). 
 

. 

 
 

THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN FILLING IN THE DIARY 

 
 

Good luck and have fun!

 

Ways of measuring 

If you want to estimate the amount of food thrown away, we suggest using the following scales. Try and describe the foods and amounts in a way that can be easily understood, so descriptions like ‘half a Mars bar’ or ‘half a loaf of Tesco’s wholemeal bread’ will mean more to you and others than simply ‘chocolate’ or ‘bread’. 

1) For “whole” food items, such as a fish finger, a slice of bread, a bar of chocolate, an apple, a meat joint, a leg of chicken, a cheese sandwich, a sausage or a banana:  

Record how much is being thrown away using the scale:

    • A whole
    • Half
    • A quarter
    • Less than a quarter

 

                                                 

      A whole                                Half                                A quarter                      Less than a quarter
 

2) For other types of food, such as baked beans, pasta, rice, cereal, soup or yoghurt: 

Record how much is being thrown away using the scale:

    • A flat tea-spoon
    • A heaped tea-spoon
    • A flat table-spoon
    • A heaped table-spoon
    • A flat handful
    • A heaped handful

 
 
 

                    

   A tea spoon                                         A table spoon                                              A flat handful

 

 

Examples of completing the diary 

BREAKFAST : What food did you dispose of from breakfast / in the morning?

Number of people: ___2 adults and 2 children_____

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ __________________________ 
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
Egg shells From 4 eggs Regular rubbish bin Inedible waste
yogurt (Ski) a heaped tea-spoon down the sink just the last little bits left at the bottom of the pot
cereal (Weetabix) a flat table spoon Fed to dog it had gone all mushy
Teabags Four in the compost bin They had been used
 
LUNCH :  What food did you dispose of from lunch?

Number of people: __one adult and two children______

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ __________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
Bread crusts From 4 slices of bread Bird table in garden Kids won’t eat crusts on sandwiches
Crisps One heaped handful Regular waste bin Left in kids’ lunchboxes
Banana skin From one banana in the compost bin it is inedible – you can’t eat it
 
TEA / DINNER :  What food did you dispose of from tea/dinner?
Number of people: ___5 adults and two children_____ 
If table is left blank state why: no food waste x meal eaten out ¨ we had a takeaway and ate it all except 4 spring-rolls which we put in fridge to eat tomorrow.______________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
N/A      

 

Example continued… 

SNACKS :  What food did you dispose of from snacks?
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
Apple (Cox) One whole Home compost bin It was bruised / damaged
Peanuts (KP) About 3 whole nuts Regular waste bin End of packet/too full to eat
Peelings From 2 potatoes Regular waste bin Made chips for snack – skins had eyes on so I peeled them
 
CLEARING OUT
If you have disposed of any other food when you have been examining your cupboards, bread bin or fridge/ freezer, please use this space to describe what food was thrown away
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. unwanted leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy, freezer burnt)
Loaf of white sliced bread (Hovis) Half a loaf (about 13 slices) In regular waste bin Bought a new loaf and this one looked past its best
Home made lasagna Half a Pyrex dish (about 500gms) Fed to dog Leftover from meal some time ago. Don’t want to heat it up after so long in the fridge.

 

 

 

Day 1: ……………………………..          
 

BREAKFAST :  What food did you dispose of from breakfast / in the morning?

Number of people: ________

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped ¨____________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       
 
 
LUNCH :  What food did you dispose of from lunch?

Number of people: ________

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       

 

 

TEA / DINNER :  What food did you dispose of from tea/dinner?

Number of people: ________ 
If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________

 
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

 

SNACKS :  What food did you dispose of from snacks?
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       

 
 
 

 

Day 2: ……………………………..        

 
 

BREAKFAST :  What food did you dispose of from breakfast / in the morning?

Number of people: ________

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________

 

___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       
 
 
LUNCH :  What food did you dispose of from lunch?

Number of people: ________

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________

 

___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       

 

TEA / DINNER :  What food did you dispose of from tea/dinner?
Number of people: ________ 
I If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨___________  
 
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

 

SNACKS :  What food did you dispose of from snacks?
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       

 
 
 

 

Day 3: ……………………………..        

 
 

BREAKFAST :  What food did you dispose of from breakfast / in the morning?

Number of people: ________

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________

 

___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       
 
 
LUNCH :  What food did you dispose of from lunch?

Number of people: ________

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________

 

___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       

 

 

TEA / DINNER :  What food did you dispose of from tea/dinner?
Number of people: ________ 
If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________  
 
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

 

SNACKS :  What food did you dispose of from snacks?
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       

 
 
 

 

Day 4: ……………………………..        

 
 

BREAKFAST :  What food did you dispose of from breakfast / in the morning?

Number of people: ________

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________

 

___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       
 
 
LUNCH :  What food did you dispose of from lunch?

Number of people: ________

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________

 

___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       

 

 

TEA / DINNER :  What food did you dispose of from tea/dinner?
Number of people: ________ 
If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________  
 
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

 

SNACKS :  What food did you dispose of from snacks?
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       

 
 
 

 

Day 5: ……………………………..        

 
 

BREAKFAST :  What food did you dispose of from breakfast / in the morning?

Number of people: ________

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________

 

___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       
 
 
LUNCH :  What food did you dispose of from lunch?

Number of people: ________

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________

 

___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       

 

 

TEA / DINNER :  What food did you dispose of from tea/dinner?
Number of people: ________ 
If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________  
 
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

 

SNACKS :  What food did you dispose of from snacks?
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       

 
 
 

 

Day 6: ……………………………..        

 
 

BREAKFAST :  What food did you dispose of from breakfast / in the morning?

Number of people: ________

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________

 

___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       
 
 
LUNCH :  What food did you dispose of from lunch?

Number of people: ________

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________

 

___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       

 

 

TEA / DINNER :  What food did you dispose of from tea/dinner?

Number of people: ________ 
If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨ meal eaten out ¨ __________________________

 
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

 

SNACKS :  What food did you dispose of from snacks?
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       

 
 
 

 

Day 7: ……………………………..        

 
 

BREAKFAST :  What food did you dispose of from breakfast / in the morning?

Number of people: ________

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ __________________________

 

___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       
 
 
LUNCH :  What food did you dispose of from lunch?

Number of people: ________

If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________

 

___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       

 

 

TEA / DINNER :  What food did you dispose of from tea/dinner?
Number of people: ________ 
If table is left blank state why: no food waste ¨  meal eaten out ¨ meal skipped  ¨____________  
 
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

 

SNACKS :  What food did you dispose of from snacks?
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. inedible peelings; leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy)
       
       
       
       
       

 
 
 

 

 

CLEARING OUT                                       

CLEARING OUT
If you have disposed of any other food when you have been examining your cupboards, bread bin or fridge/ freezer, please use this space to describe what food was thrown away
WHAT? HOW MUCH? WHERE? WHY?
Description of food (include brand if known)

Quantity disposed of

(using scale or description)
 Method of disposal (e.g. regular waste; council food waste collections; home compost; sink)

Why it was disposed of

(e.g. unwanted leftovers; out of date; tasted bad; mouldy, freezer burnt)
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

 
 

Well done! You can now look back and see where you might be able to reduce the amount of food being thrown away, and don’t forget there are lots of helpful tips, tools, recipes etc at lovefoodhatewaste.com.

 
 

 

Useful Tips & Ideas

 

Useful tips & ideas for reducing the amount of food being thrown away
 
Useful Tip or Idea

 
Where did you find this?

(your own discovery (!), from a friend or family member; from the lovefoodhatewaste web-site, from a book or magazine etc)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

 
 

You can keep this as a record, and if you want to share these tips and ideas with others please send them to: lovefoodhatewaste.com