The Food Waste Hierarchy: Turning Waste into Soil And Community

By Alex Montgomery

Founder of Generation Soil CIC

Doctoral Researcher in Food Systems, Soil & Behaviour Change

Why Food Waste Matters More Than We Think

Every year, nearly one third of all food produced globally is wasted. In the UK alone, millions of tonnes of food end up in bins, where it breaks down and releases methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide.

Reducing food waste is one of the fastest, most effective ways to cut emissions, protect soils, and support communities. But meaningful action requires more than good intentions. It requires a framework.

That framework already exists. It’s called the food waste hierarchy.

Understanding the Food Waste Hierarchy

The food waste hierarchy shows the most effective actions for reducing waste, ranked from highest to lowest impact. Think of it as a ladder. The higher you climb, the greater the benefit for people, planet, and soil.

The four key stages are:

1️⃣ Prevention

2️⃣ Redistribution

3️⃣ Composting

4️⃣ Landfill (last resort)

This hierarchy doesn’t just reduce waste. It reshapes how we value food, soil, and community.

Prevention: Stop Food Waste Before It Starts

Prevention sits at the top of the hierarchy because it saves everything at once. Food, money, energy, water, and soil.

Simple prevention actions include:

• Planning meals and shopping lists

• Storing food correctly to extend freshness

• Using leftovers creatively in soups, stews, and smoothies

Research shows that meal planning alone can reduce household food waste by up to 20 percent. When this knowledge is shared through community workshops, those savings multiply across entire neighbourhoods.

When we prevent food waste, we also prevent the waste of the soil, labour, and resources that produced it.

👉 food waste prevention workshops 

Redistribution: Feed People, Not Bins

When food can’t be prevented, the next priority is redistribution.

Edible surplus food should feed people, not landfills.

Food banks, community fridges, and redistribution networks connect surplus meals from homes, schools, and businesses with people facing food insecurity. In the UK, organisations like FareShare and Neighbourly redistribute millions of meals each year.

At a local level, community fridges do more than reduce waste. They reduce stigma, build trust, and strengthen social ties.

Redistribution reminds us that sustainability is not just environmental. It is social.

Composting: Turning Waste into Living Soil

When food can no longer be eaten, it still has value.

Composting transforms unavoidable food waste into nutrient-rich compost that feeds soil life and closes the loop between consumption and regeneration.

At Generation Soil, we turn Bristol’s food scraps into living compost through the Bristol Living Compost Project, a decentralised community composting network that turns food waste into living soil.

Healthy compost is rich in beneficial microorganisms that:

• Restore soil fertility

• Improve water retention

• Build climate resilience

Community gardens using high-quality compost can produce up to 30 percent more food while supporting pollinators and biodiversity.

Composting is also one of the most accessible actions people can take:

• Use a small kitchen caddy for daily scraps

• Ferment food waste with bokashi to prevent odours

• Compost locally through community hubs

When we compost, we don’t just recycle. We regenerate.

👉 composting food waste in Bristol

Landfill: The Absolute Last Resort

Sending food waste to landfill should be avoided wherever possible.

When food breaks down without oxygen, it produces methane, one of the most powerful greenhouse gases. Every tonne of food waste diverted from landfill saves approximately 2.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions.

By prioritising prevention, redistribution, and composting, we drastically reduce both emissions and ecological harm.

Landfill is not a solution. It is a symptom of a broken system.

Education as the Catalyst for Change

Lasting change begins with understanding.

Many people want to reduce food waste but don’t know where to start or feel overwhelmed by conflicting advice.

At Generation Soil CIC, we bridge this gap through hands-on food and soil education workshops. Our sessions in Bristol explore:

• Composting at home and in flats using bokashi

• How food waste connects to soil health and climate

• How to start or join local composting initiatives

Workshops don’t just transfer knowledge. They build confidence, relationships, and collective momentum.

Decentralised Composting Hubs: Local Soil Solutions

Decentralised composting hubs are small, community-run sites where residents bring food scraps for local composting. These hubs:

• Reduce transport emissions

• Create local jobs and volunteering opportunities

• Produce compost for gardens, allotments, and food forests

• Reconnect people with soil

Our Bristol Living Compost Project is one example. Every week, members collect food waste across the city and transform it into living compost used to grow food and restore soil health in Bristol.

These hubs are not waste facilities. They are community ecosystems.

The Ripple Effect of the Food Waste Hierarchy

When the food waste hierarchy is put into practice, the benefits ripple outward.

Environmental benefits

• Reduced methane and CO₂ emissions

• Improved soil structure and biodiversity

• Reduced reliance on chemical fertilisers

Social benefits

• More food shared within communities

• Stronger local networks

• Greater awareness and behaviour change

Economic benefits

• Lower waste management costs

• Support for local growers and composters

• Reduced household food bills

Final Thoughts: Join the Movement

Reducing food waste is not just about saving scraps. It is about building a fairer, healthier, more regenerative food system.

The food waste hierarchy gives us a clear roadmap:

1️⃣ Prevent what you can

2️⃣ Share what’s edible

3️⃣ Compost what remains

At Generation Soil, we put this into practice every day through our workshops, composting hubs, and community projects.

👉 turn food waste into living soil

Every bucket of food waste we collect becomes fertile ground for change.

Together, we can transform Bristol’s food waste into soil, community, and a future where nothing is wasted and everything returns to the land.