No one likes finding a loaf of bread covered in mould in the pantry, especially right before breakfast. But according to gardening experts, there’s no need to throw your green and blue loaves away, because they make excellent food for your plants.

British National Greenhouse gardening specialist Tom Hilton told Express.co.uk that there are many household waste items that can be used to revitalise or boost plants, giving an alternative to expensive store-bought chemical fertilisers.

“So much of the food waste in the UK could be put to better use as fertiliser and compost in our own gardens,” he said.

“While fruit and veg scraps are the most obvious and widely used, thanks to being packed full of nutrients and other goodies, there’s actually plenty of other inconspicuous food items that can help to revitalise your plant based pals.”

Tom went on to explain that while stale bread is a great addition to the compost bin, mouldy bread is even better.

“While using fresh bread is not recommended, stale bread you should have no issue with, adding another great source of nitrogen to your compost heap,” he said.

“Have you left it a bit too long and it’s gone from stale to mouldy? Mouldy is even better!

“Mould on the bread helps speed up the composition process of both the bread and other materials present in your composting mixture, meaning better quality fertiliser in a shorter time frame.”