Sitting down to a meal of leftovers might not be a gourmet's dream but it's being touted as the latest way to help the environment.

A revolutionary campaign has been launched in Britain to encourage people to eat up their leftovers instead of throwing it out.

It was sparked by research which found nearly seven million tonnes of unused food ends up in rubbish dumps across the UK each year releasing harmful methane gases as it rots.

The campaign says one of the most simple things you can do is eat food before the use-by date and either freeze leftovers for later or serve them up the next day.

The program says we throw away a third of the food we buy and we might as well buy three bags of groceries and throw one straight in the bin when we get home.

Ways to avoid wasting food by making the most of leftovers:

Bring soft vegetables such as carrots and cucumber back to life by putting them in water and chilling them

Cut up uneaten chicken breasts into strips and freeze them to add to stir-frys

Grate cheese and store it in the freezer to use in sauces or omelettes

Apples, pears, apricots and plums that are past their best can be cooked up in puddings

Use vegetables, fruit and bread that are nearly past their best to make chutney

Many leftovers from previous meals can be cooked with fresh ingredients to create lunch

If cooking a large meal, divide it into portions to be frozen for another day

Keep ripe fruit in the fridge to make it last longer

Store food in air-tight containers and re-sealable bags

Measure food portions to avoid cooking too much and having to throw away uneaten food

Eat food before its use-by date

Source - Britain's Waste & Resources Action Program (WRAP)

AAP