Food Waste in Switzerland: How to Save Food Every Day

Food Waste in Switzerland — The Numbers

Did you know that Switzerland wastes around 2.8 million tonnes of food every year? That works out to roughly 330 kilograms per person — nearly a kilogram per day. According to the Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU), about one third of all food produced in the country is lost before anyone eats it.

This is not just an environmental issue. Food waste accounts for roughly 25% of the environmental impact of our diet in Switzerland. It is also a financial burden: the average Swiss family throws away food worth CHF 500–1,000 every year. That is money you could put to much better use.

Agriculture and the food industry are the largest overall contributors to food waste — but as consumers, our own kitchens are where we can make the fastest difference. And the best part? It is not that hard at all.

Why Families Throw Away the Most

Families with children face particular challenges. Daily life is hectic, everyone has different tastes, and we tend to buy 'just in case' because we never quite know what the week will bring. The result: a packed fridge where nothing quite fits together.

• Oversized portions: We regularly cook more than we need, especially with sides like rice or pasta, because portions are hard to estimate.
• Impulse purchases: Without a plan, spontaneous items end up in the trolley and then get forgotten in the fridge.
• Lack of overview: What is still there? What needs to be used first? Without a system, it is easy to lose track.
• Misunderstood expiry dates: 'Best before' does not mean 'toxic after'. Many products are perfectly fine for days past that date.
• Children who don't finish meals: Half-eaten plates are a classic — but starting with smaller portions helps.

The good news: most of this waste can be avoided with a few simple strategies. You do not need to be a sustainability expert — a little planning goes a long way.

7 Tips to Reduce Food Waste

1. Meal Planning: Plan Your Week Ahead

The most important tip comes first: planning what you will eat during the week means you shop more purposefully and have fewer leftovers. Studies show that meal planning can reduce household food waste by up to 30%. You do not need to plan every single meal — just 4–5 dinners per week already makes a big difference.

2. Make a Shopping List — and Stick to It

A shopping list is the best defence against impulse buys. Write down what you need and buy only that. It sounds simple, but the effect is huge: research from ETH Zurich suggests that households without a list purchase up to 40% more than planned. If you plan your recipes in an app like TellerPlan, the shopping list is even generated automatically.

3. Understand Expiry Dates

'Best before' is a quality promise from the manufacturer — not a safety deadline. Yoghurt, cheese, eggs, and many other products are often still perfectly fine for days after that date. Trust your senses: does it look fine, smell normal, and taste right? Then it is fine. Only with meat, fish, and fresh products labelled 'Use by' should you take the date seriously.

4. Leftovers Day: Use Up What You Have

Intentionally plan one day per week where you buy nothing new and cook only with what is already in the fridge and cupboard. It could be a leftover bake, a stir-fry with whatever vegetables remain, or simply a creative bread-and-cheese spread. Batch cooking also helps avoid waste by pre-portioning meals. Many Swiss families do this on Friday evenings — a lovely tradition that saves money and sparks creativity.

5. Store and Freeze Properly

Many items spoil faster than necessary because they are stored incorrectly. Tomatoes do not belong in the fridge, bananas speed up the ripening of other fruit, and bread keeps for weeks in the freezer. A few ground rules:

• Wrap fresh herbs in a damp cloth and store in the fridge
• Transfer cooked leftovers into containers immediately — eat within 2 days or freeze
• Freeze bread in slices — individual slices can go straight into the toaster
• Follow the 'first in, first out' rule: move older items to the front

6. Buy Seasonal and Local

Seasonal produce is not only cheaper and more sustainable — it also tends to last longer because it has not travelled far. Spring means asparagus and strawberries, summer brings courgettes and tomatoes, autumn offers pumpkin and apples, and winter is the time for cabbage and carrots. Farmers' markets and farm shops are ideal, and both Migros and Coop clearly label seasonal Swiss produce in store.

7. Buy Smaller Quantities

The bulk pack is cheaper per kilogram — but only if you actually use it all. With fresh items like salad, berries, or bread, it often pays to buy a little less and pop back to the shop if needed. Two smaller weekly shops are better than one large haul where half of it goes off.

Meal Planning: The Key to Fighting Food Waste

Of all the tips above, meal planning has the greatest impact. Why? Because it addresses the root of the problem: we buy too much of the wrong things because we have no plan. A weekly meal plan solves several issues at once:

• Targeted shopping: You buy only what you need for planned recipes — no impulse items.
• Better portion control: When you know how many servings you are cooking, you buy the right amounts.
• Built-in leftovers: You can schedule a leftovers day right into the plan and deliberately design meals that reuse ingredients from the day before.
• Seasonality: Planning ahead makes it easy to build seasonal ingredients into your week.
• Less stress: No daily 'what shall we cook?' debate — and therefore fewer spontaneous takeaway orders or ready meals that often end up half-eaten in the bin.

Many Swiss families report that a simple weekly plan alone cut their food waste in half. International research backs this up: households with a regular meal plan throw away significantly less than those without.

The obstacle has always been that meal planning with pen and paper is tedious, and most apps are built for the US market. TellerPlan was created to solve exactly that: a meal planning tool for Switzerland that imports recipes from Cookidoo, captures cookbook recipes with a photo, and automatically generates a shopping list in German.

What Migros, Coop, and Others Are Already Doing

Switzerland's major retailers have recognised the food waste issue and are taking action. When you are in the shop, you can take advantage of their initiatives to save money and rescue food at the same time:

• Migros: Reduces products close to their expiry date by up to 50% (yellow stickers). Many branches also participate in 'Too Good To Go', where you can grab a surprise bag of food for a fraction of the original price.
• Coop: Sells visually imperfect fruit and vegetables at a discount under the 'Ünique' label. Coop also partners with 'Too Good To Go' and discounts items nearing expiry.
• Aldi and Lidl: The discounters likewise mark down fresh products before expiry and regularly run promotions on surplus stock.
• Too Good To Go: The app is hugely popular in Switzerland. Bakeries, restaurants, and supermarkets offer surprise bags of food that would otherwise be thrown out — often for just CHF 3–5.

The national 'Save Food, Fight Waste' campaign brings together retailers, the hospitality industry, and consumers. Their website offers extra tips, leftover recipes, and a food waste calculator that shows how much you could personally save.

But as important as these initiatives are, the biggest lever is in your own kitchen. Discounted products at Migros and Coop only help fight food waste if you actually use them. With a weekly plan, you can work those spontaneous finds straight into your meals.

Your Next Step

Food waste is a big problem — but you do not have to solve it on your own. Even small changes make a difference. Start with one simple step this week:

1. Fridge check: Look in your fridge right now. What needs to be used first?
2. Plan 3 meals: Choose three dishes for the next few days — based on what you already have.
3. Write a shopping list: Note only what you need in addition for those recipes.

That alone can stop food from ending up in the bin this week. And if you want to make the process even easier: TellerPlan helps you collect recipes, build your weekly plan, and generate the shopping list automatically — so you can focus on cooking and enjoying your meals.