ACCORDING to a new survey, the average Australian household dumps $616 worth of food in the bin every year.

That’s a total of about $5.2 billion in wasted food which is bad for not only our food but the environment in general.

The survey is called ‘What a Waste’ and found the 1603 Australians during October were found to be wasteful with their food. Queenslanders were seen to be the worst out of that survey, dumping an average of $678 per year followed by NSW on $643.

To what would be terrifying for farmers who spend endless hours growing crops, fruit and vegetables were the most thrown out items, followed by restaurant and takeaway leftovers and then meat and fish. The survey also found that the richer the household, the more inclined they were to throw items out. But it also showed that smaller households were more likely to throw items out.

Some believe the onus is on the government to introduce policies to get people thinking smart about food waste. Some have suggested banning plastic bags altogether at supermarkets which would get people to shop more thoroughly for items they only need.

It is believed those who waste said it was for financial reasons was the key motivator for them not to waste and not the environment.