Many of our dishes include often used ingredients such as egg and butter. On this page, you can find ways to reduce waste when using these ingredients as well as what brands to use when purchasing ingredients from the supermarket. 

It is always important to purchase free-range eggs from companies such as Yallamundi Farm, Hens of the Earth Eggs, Hilltops and BumNuts.

For the penne amatriciana, the jar which was used to make the tinned tomatoes could be used again for storing food or made into a plant pot to grow some plants or vegetables. 

You can use leftover egg cartons to plant small herbs and flowers.

Potato is one of the most commonly wasted produce in Australia. Growing your own potatoes or getting them at community gardens cuts out the ‘middle man’ and food isn’t wasted  before coming to stores. Potato peels contain nutrients such as vitamin c that help in fixing dark circles and spots. Potato peels, after this, can be composted.

Wasted water contributes heavily to climate change and ruining environments. The leftover water, from boiling potatoes, contains nutrients and starches for making bread. If bread-making isn’t in your skillset, potato water is also helpful as water in growing your plants.

Olive oil is an unsustainable oil as it heavily contributes to global warming, erosion and often leaves areas deserted and dry,  but in comparison to other cooking oils such as palm oil it is relatively more environmentally friendly. Olive oil fraud is a common problem in the oil industry as other oils are cheaper to make.  Although making your own olive oil, is considerably difficult to make edible. The best bet is to buy olive oil with the labels ‘extra-virgin’, say the time and place it was made, and is made in Australia. Although local is not always better than buying from overseas, It is easier to know that your oil is legit. Storing the olive oil after using it to reuse is a good way to prevent wasting it.

Produce such as tomato is regularly wasted before getting to the grocery store, and very often uses pesticides, insecticides and other chemicals. Again, as with potatoes, growing your own tomatoes or in the community or school gardens and programs is the best option. The leftover tomato from this recipe could be used in making the Penne amatriciana or can be used in stocks or soups.