How to reduce waste at home

Even when you live frugally, there’s always a certain amount of household waste, often from food and packaging. Sorting your recyclables and organising your fridge are two ways to help reduce waste – as well as make your home a little tidier.

A person adds vegetable peel to a brown-paper food waste bag in a HÅLLBAR waste sorting bin within a high MAXIMERA drawer.

Get your waste sorting sorted

Sorting is easier if each type of recyclable material has a dedicated container – so less waste goes to landfill. With both freestanding and built-in options, such as HÅLLBAR series, your home can be tidier, too.

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Six white SORTERA waste sorting bins with lid, in two stacks of three, in a wooden shelving unit beneath eggs and bottles.

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A white SORTERA waste sorting bin with open lid to show newspapers inside, beneath a shelf of glass jars of red preserves.

Did you know

Waste isn’t always waste. Veg peels in broths, seeds grown in egg boxes, newspaper as gift-wrap...

Easy-to-see leftovers in a fridge with IKEA 365+ transparent food containers and glass jars on a SNURRAD storage turntable.

Making your food go further

With transparent food containers you can easily see what to eat up first. To prolong freshness, you can arrange the fridge shelves based on the different temperature zones and how fast certain foods will spoil.

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Waste reduction aids

Here are just some of the IKEA products to help you stay on top of household waste.

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Why let good food go to waste?

Rather than add to the mountain of food that’s thrown away each year, why not chill or freeze your leftovers for a quick meal on another day? You might save yourself both time and money.

See all IKEA 365+ food storage