Public Service Announcement for Yokohama City

20th October 2021

In Yokohama City, the annual food waste from households is approximately 93,000 tons. This works out to each citizen throwing away about 25 kilograms (or about 19,000 yen’s worth) of food.

Let's each of us value food, use up ingredients, and finish meals to reduce food waste.

＜Tips to Reduce Food Waste ＞

* Keep your refrigerator tidy in daily life. Get into the habit of sorting out the contents of your refrigerator before shopping or on a set day each week. If you keep your refrigerator tidy, it will prevent you from throwing out food that you have forgotten to use.

* Jot down shopping items. Make a list of what you need and plan your shopping. It is important to make use of smaller packs and items sold individually too, so that you only buy as much as you need.

* Prepare only what you can consume. Cook the right amount for the number of people in your family. If there are any leftovers, store them in the refrigerator or freezer and eat them as soon as possible.

* When eating out, only order what you think you can finish. About half of the food waste from restaurants is food that customers have left on their plates. Order an amount you can finish to reduce leftovers when eating out.

* Check the Best Before date and the Use By date. The Use By date is the "expiration date for safe consumption" and the Best Before date is the "date until which the food stays at its tastiest".