Brisbane City Council is calling on residents to help keep the city clean, green and sustainable while reducing their food waste and grocery bills, by taking part in the free Six Week Food Waste Challenge.

Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner said more than 3500 residents took part in Council’s inaugural challenge in January this year, following a step-by-step guide for six weeks, to learn how to better plan their food purchasing and reuse leftovers to reduce food waste.

“The Six Week Food Waste Challenge, which starts this Sunday, is part of Council’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign, which aims to reduce the amount of household waste to keep Brisbane clean and green,” Cr Schrinner said.

“In 2017-18, residents threw away 78,000 tonnes of food, while one in every five bags of groceries was thrown in the bin, costing households an extra $3800 a year.

“That’s 65kg of food for every Brisbane resident that could be kept out of landfill, helping make Brisbane more sustainable.

“This challenge helps residents save money by making simple, positive changes to reduce their avoidable food waste and, in turn, their impact on our environment.

“Each week, participants complete tasks to help them reduce and rethink their food waste, looking at everything from planning meals, shopping, cooking and eating.”

Cr Schrinner said that although Council had seen an encouraging reduction in the amount of food being thrown into household general waste bins, one-quarter of all household rubbish was still food waste.

“The top 10 food waste items put into Brisbane bins are bread, bananas, broccoli, oranges, apples, pumpkin, onions, potatoes, carrots and poultry,” he said.

“This challenge is a great opportunity to find out how small, everyday decisions by households can have a huge impact on our city’s sustainability.”

Last year Council ran more than 350 free and low-cost education workshops aimed at raising awareness about waste and increase behaviour change, with topics ranging from composting and herb gardens to adult cooking classes and Munch and Crunch presentations in schools.

Residents can follow the Six Week Food Waste Challenge on Council’s website, with tips and tools for each of the six weeks, as well a bonus week with tips on composting.

For more information about Council’s Love Food, Hate Waste campaign, visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au or call Council on (07) 3403 8888.