Household Food Waste Log

Who this is for

See what the bin costs you. For one week, write down each thing thrown away, why it went and roughly what it cost, then total it by reason and carry the figure into a running four-week total.

Households trying to throw away less food, families who suspect the weekly shop is too big, and anyone who wants a number rather than a feeling about waste.

What this helps you track

• What was thrown away each day and how much of it
• Why it went: out of date, leftovers, spoiled, cooked too much or other
• Roughly what each item cost, from your own prices
• Which items could have been frozen or used up in time
• The week's cost by reason and the total over four weeks

How to use it

1. Write the household, the date the week begins, how many people live there and the total from your previous three weeks' logs, if you have them.
2. Keep the sheet near the bin and write each item as it goes, with the amount and the reason.
3. Estimate the cost from what you paid, and tick whether it could have been frozen or used.
4. At the end of the week fill the by-reason table with the number of items and the cost for each reason.
5. The totals and the four-week figure are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, add down each column.
6. Pick the biggest reason and change one habit for the next week.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How do I estimate the cost?

Use what you paid for the whole pack and judge the share that went, such as half a bag of salad. It does not need to be exact; a consistent rough figure shows the pattern over a few weeks.

What counts as waste?

Decide for your household and keep to it. Many people log food that could have been eaten and leave out peelings, bones and shells, but you can log everything if you want the full picture.

Why fill the by-reason table by hand?

Because counting the reasons at the end of the week is quick and makes you read the log, which is where the ideas for what to change come from. The table then totals the counts and costs for you.

How does the four-week total work?

Enter the combined total of your previous three weekly logs in the header, and the summary adds this week to it. Each new week, add up the last three totals again.