In my local council area, a council-run food organics and garden organics (FOGO) collection service for homes starts this week. This is such a positive initiative.

Despite some increases over the years, the number of households who compost appears to be quite low (with estimates around 23%). This means providing a council collection and composting service is likely to have a big impact on the amount of food waste heading to landfill. When you consider how much higher rates of kerbside recycling by households outside of food organics are (around 63% of households recycle non-organic material), it's likely that kerbside food recycling will see a significant uptake with the implementation of a council-run service. And that is exciting.

In past columns, I have discussed the topic of food waste, however, I thought it was timely to have a fresh look at it because its impact is so great.

Firstly, some facts for context. According to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, organic waste in landfill generates around 13 million tonnes of CO2-e (carbon dioxide equivalent) each year. To understand the magnitude of this, it is the equivalent of three per cent of Australia's total emissions.

OzHarvest, the iconic social initiative that saves food from landfill, reports that if we could eliminate food waste globally, we could save 4.4 million tonnes of C02-e a year - equivalent to taking one in four cars off the road.

Food waste also has an impact beyond greenhouse gas emissions though. As organics decompose in landfill, they often produce leachate, a liquid that can contain harmful chemicals and bacteria. Leachate can contaminate groundwater and surface water, as well as the soil, posing a risk to human health and the environment.

While organic waste doesn't come solely from households (other producers are farms, supermarkets, etc), households are by far the largest contributor according to the ABS, contributing 6.4 million tonnes - or 42% of all organic waste.

If there is a good uptake of the kerbside FOGO collection programme, the expectation is that there could be a significant positive impact on both greenhouse gas emissions and environment health around landfills, which is just amazing. I hope that everyone embraces the collections wholeheartedly.

However, it is important not to let FOGO services make us complacent when it comes to addressing food waste through other means. As always, the first option whenever possible to be to stop waste before it is generated in the first place through being mindful of what we purchase, what we make, and how we store it. Menu planning, shopping lists and learning how to use or cook with leftovers is can also be very useful.

For inspiration or ideas to help limit the food waste you create, you can visit OzHarvest, Clean Up Australia or World Wildlife Fund, all of which are great sources of information.