Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Western Australian businesses can now make better-informed decisions about reducing food waste and turning discarded materials into valuable products, thanks to a new online toolkit .

Developed through a research collaboration involving Curtin University, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the End Food Waste Cooperative Research Center, the Food Waste PRO toolkit helps small and medium-sized food businesses measure their waste and assess potential solutions from technical, regulatory and economic perspectives.

Curtin food science researcher Associate Professor Janet Howieson, from the School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said many smaller businesses recognized opportunities to reduce or repurpose food waste but lacked the time and resources to determine whether solutions were commercially viable.

"Food waste can represent a significant lost opportunity for a business, but identifying a possible solution is only the first step," Howieson…