Victorians are being urged to stop throwing out bread, with research showing the equivalent of 125 million loaves are ending up in waste each year.
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Sustainability Victoria on Thursday launched its Bread to be More campaign to encourage households to use up all the bread they buy.
The agency says for every loaf of bread that's eaten in the state, almost half a loaf is thrown away.
It equates to about 186,000 tonnes - or 125 million loaves.
The wastage is causing a significant drain on Victoria's natural resources, costing almost $800 million dollars each year.
Eliminating bread waste in Victoria would be equivalent to removing more than 100,000 cars off the road every year.
"Water, energy, land, and fuel go into the production of the bread we buy," Sustainability Victoria's CEO Claire Ferres Miles said in a statement.
Bread is the third-highest food wastage contributor to climate change, after dairy and meat.
But unlike meat and dairy, bread waste is "almost 100 per cent avoidable".
The Bread to be More campaign will include bread saving recipes, as well as tips and tricks on using, freezing and transforming the humble loaf.
Australian Associated Press
