Just how far would you go to reduce your waste in either your home or business?

One catering company in Sydney's east has made it a mission to have zero waste in landfill by the end of the year.

Company founder Ilana Cooper said they were 70 per cent there, after they started using offcut fabric as napkins and converting cooking oil into soap.

Ms Cooper said there was a lot of talk in the Australian food industry 10 years ago about knowing where your food came from and sourcing locally.

"But there was no talk about where food actually goes at the end of it," she said.

Ms Cooper said her company was always trialling new ideas.

"Every week we look at a particular waste stream and we try and tackle it … to get rid of that waste stream," she said.

Their offcut napkins are supplied from a local fashion designer, and they have their leftover oil collected so it can be converted to soap.

"It's a way to ensure that our waste oil is recycled and given a second purpose," said chef Dan Lewinsky, who helped set up the catering company.

Brooke Mills and Ilana Cooper brainstorming waste-free ideas. ( ABC News: Liv Casben )

In the kitchen it also means getting creative, including sourcing local seasonal produce and using anything edible they can.

"We could make ordinary focaccia … but instead we are so inspired by left over herbs from the weekend," said Mr Lewinsky.

The chef also roasts whole half pumpkins, seeds and all, in an attempt to use all of the produce. The seeds are dehydrated to use as crunch in the dish.

Lamb is braised in leftover whey from their ricotta, while the ricotta itself is produced from leftover milk and cream which was destined for the sink.

"The kitchen loves looking in the cool room at the end of the weekend, and knowing what is in there that we can use," said Ms Cooper.

Any green waste they do produce is driven by golf buggy to the local community garden.

Dan Lewinsky, Tim Harrison and Henrique Turra in the kitchen. ( ABC News: Liv Casben )

Some of that green waste comes from the functions they serve, where customers are encouraged to dispose of their apple cores and banana peels in reusable containers so they can be composted.

The company said plastic packaging remains one of their biggest challenges, and while they're trialling a reusable plastic, it's expensive.

"Meat is often in cryovac bags, and that's tricky because that's also a food preservation approach, but that's probably the hardest for us the stuff that we can't really control," Ms Cooper said.

The group is hoping the idea takes off, and so does Sydney's Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Miller, who encouraged Ms Cooper to take up the challenge.

"She came to me to tackle the problem of food waste … plastic waste accounts for a huge amount of what we find in the red bin, and there's no way to recycle that....so avoiding that waste being created in the first place is critical," said Cr Miller.

The city of Sydney Council has its own target, to divert more than 90 per cent of all waste from landfill by 2030.