In a personal but wide-ranging article for the Romanian online platform Scena9, the journalist Oana Filip explores the thorny issue of food waste. While the piece focuses on Filip’s home country, the story is global in scope – and offers practical tips for anyone looking to reduce the amount of food they throw away
War in Europe and the Middle East. The rise of the far-right in the US, the EU and beyond. The climate crisis. A growing chasm between rich and poor.
When we turn on the news it is easy to feel overwhelmed, and powerless as individuals to influence global events. But there is one area where we can all make a real and immediate difference, according to the Romanian journalist Oana Filip. Start by opening your fridge and taking a look inside.
Her article begins in her own kitchen and a refrigerator stuffed with leftovers from the then recent Easter. A pile of offal, lamb steak and soup, pasca with salty cheese, cozonac, cherry roulade and schnitzel. She described the remnants of the traditional Romanian feast as “more than a family of four could realistically consume.” And therefore much of it destined for the bin.
Each year, the average Romanian household throws away 70 kilograms of food. Unlike with other elements of the climate crisis, where complex industrial systems and large companies such as oil producers play an outsized role, when it comes to food waste, the actions of individuals and families can have a significant impact.
In the EU as a whole, households are responsible for more than half of all food waste. And the environmental toll is staggering: one kilogram of unused beef represents 50,000 litres of wasted water. Pouring away a single glass of milk squanders 1,000 litres used along the supply chain.
The food industry does play a role too, and Filip doesn’t let it off the hook. Farming practices, supermarket promotions, and strict aesthetic standards all contribute to the problem. She cites the case of Lay’s crisps, which can reject – and therefore waste – potatoes if they do not fit strict criteria. But she insists that change must also come from below, particularly in wealthier countries where overbuying is the norm.
Filip is careful not to moralise. For much of history, she points out, the challenge was not to throw away less food, but to find enough to eat in the first place. Romania’s own experience bears this out: until the 1990s, scarcity was a defining feature of everyday life. The abundance that some of us enjoy today, she writes, is historically new: “from this point of view, it is understandable that we still do not know exactly how to behave.”
Still, awareness is growing. In Romania, food banks are on the rise, and legislation is coming into force that encourages restaurants and retailers to speed-up turnover and donate excess stock. The EU, too, has made tackling food waste a priority. But Filip is clear: policy changes only go so far. Tackling food waste requires shifts in mindset and behaviour – at home, in the fridge, and around the bin.
To this end, she offers a list of no-nonsense tips to help readers do their part. These include:
- Track your habits: Keep a food-waste diary to identify what you’re throwing away and why.
- Track the cost: Each time you throw food away, write down its estimated value. At the end of a set period, calculate how much money you’ve wasted.
- Create a “fast food” zone: Designate a shelf or box for items nearing expiry so you remember to use them up first.
- Declutter your storage: Do a full clean-out of your fridge and pantry; discard expired items and give away anything you’re unlikely to eat, even if it’s technically still good.
- Store food smartly: Use fridge zones properly. The door should be for sauces and drinks; the lower shelf for meat; the middle shelf for leftovers; the top for dairy products and eggs. Keep fruit and veg unwrapped in a separate drawer.
- Shop mindfully: Make a list before shopping, and avoid going to the store hungry to cut down on impulse buys that go uneaten.
- Trust your senses: Many foods are actually safe past their “best before” date; if they look, smell, and taste fine, they’re probably still good.
- Share surplus: If you’ve overcooked, offer leftovers to friends, neighbours, or colleagues instead of binning them.
- Repurpose leftovers: Use websites for creative leftover recipes. Filip cites her own experience of turning a leftover Easter cake into a pudding – a nod to one small change that just might make a bigger difference.
Original article (“Ne place mâncarea. Atunci de ce o aruncăm?”) by Oana Filip first published in Romanian on 24 April 2025.
It’s available here.
Scena9 is an independent outlet about cultural life in Romania and beyond.
Summary by TM
