Curbing Food Waste This Christmas

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It's that time of year again where everyone stocks up on mince pies, pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce and other tasty treats (or not...we're looking at you brussel sprouts...) just in time for Christmas. However the festive period is also a time where the amount of food waste increases substantially, with over one in seven British consumers buying more food than they need. In this article, we're going to share some helpful tips and tricks you can use to save money whilst tackling food waste and helping the environment this Christmas.


Did you know?

Families spend on average £146 on their festive food each year, but a staggering £79 worth of that will end up in the bin!

7.5 million mince pies and 17.2 million brussel sprouts end up in landfill every year during the festive period in the UK.

7 million tonnes of food ends up thrown away each Christmas in the UK.


Check Your Cupboards Before Buying

Before hitting the shops, check to see if you might have any ingredients lurking in your kitchen. Maybe you have a can of custard hiding at the back of the cupboard, or a bag of frozen veg that could be used? Or maybe there are some easy swaps in place of certain traditional items, such as roasting carrots instead of parsnips. Another option could be to use sunflower oil to cook your roast potatoes instead of goose fat.


Plan Your Food Shop

The festive period often calls for us to cook for a larger amount of people than we are used to in everyday life. To combat this, we often buy excess to guarantee that we will have enough food for everyone. But this doesn't have to be the case! We've found some websites below in addition to the infographic in this article (source: BBC Good Food), which you can use to help you to plan ahead.

Your Christmas portion planner | BBC Good Food

Food portion calculator: your guide to perfect portion sizes | Love Food Hate Waste


Store Food Properly

You can often extend the life of produce by storing it properly. Most fruit, vegetables and cooked meats will last longer if they are stored in the fridge, which helps to stop them from going bad before you've had a chance to use them. Certain foods don't fare so well in the fridge, such as cake, melon and bananas. So it's worth checking beforehand to make the most out of your food!


Get Creative with Christmas Leftover Recipes

One of the best things about Christmas is the leftovers, and the tasty meals that can be made using them! To avoid eating the same thing over and over again, have a look online for recipes of what you can do with your leftovers. An example of this that we found was on Love Food Hate Waste's site, which can be found here.


Make the Most of Your Freezer

In case you make too much food for your Christmas dinner, there's a variety of leftovers that can be frozen for future use instead of being chucked out! For example, cranberry and bread sauces can be frozen for up to three months and roast potatoes can be frozen for up to four months. Check out this article for more information.


Food Waste Recycling

If you find that you still have some food that you need to dispose of, make sure to either compost or pop it into your food waste bin, which is collected each week. Make sure to leave out the following items into your food waste caddy:

  • Packaging of any kind
  • Liquids such as milk
  • Oil or liquid fat
  • Any material that is not food waste.

More information can be found on the website here. If you don't yet have a food bin, order one here.

It's that time of year again where everyone stocks up on mince pies, pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce and other tasty treats (or not...we're looking at you brussel sprouts...) just in time for Christmas. However the festive period is also a time where the amount of food waste increases substantially, with over one in seven British consumers buying more food than they need. In this article, we're going to share some helpful tips and tricks you can use to save money whilst tackling food waste and helping the environment this Christmas.


Did you know?

Families spend on average £146 on their festive food each year, but a staggering £79 worth of that will end up in the bin!

7.5 million mince pies and 17.2 million brussel sprouts end up in landfill every year during the festive period in the UK.

7 million tonnes of food ends up thrown away each Christmas in the UK.


Check Your Cupboards Before Buying

Before hitting the shops, check to see if you might have any ingredients lurking in your kitchen. Maybe you have a can of custard hiding at the back of the cupboard, or a bag of frozen veg that could be used? Or maybe there are some easy swaps in place of certain traditional items, such as roasting carrots instead of parsnips. Another option could be to use sunflower oil to cook your roast potatoes instead of goose fat.


Plan Your Food Shop

The festive period often calls for us to cook for a larger amount of people than we are used to in everyday life. To combat this, we often buy excess to guarantee that we will have enough food for everyone. But this doesn't have to be the case! We've found some websites below in addition to the infographic in this article (source: BBC Good Food), which you can use to help you to plan ahead.

Your Christmas portion planner | BBC Good Food

Food portion calculator: your guide to perfect portion sizes | Love Food Hate Waste


Store Food Properly

You can often extend the life of produce by storing it properly. Most fruit, vegetables and cooked meats will last longer if they are stored in the fridge, which helps to stop them from going bad before you've had a chance to use them. Certain foods don't fare so well in the fridge, such as cake, melon and bananas. So it's worth checking beforehand to make the most out of your food!


Get Creative with Christmas Leftover Recipes

One of the best things about Christmas is the leftovers, and the tasty meals that can be made using them! To avoid eating the same thing over and over again, have a look online for recipes of what you can do with your leftovers. An example of this that we found was on Love Food Hate Waste's site, which can be found here.


Make the Most of Your Freezer

In case you make too much food for your Christmas dinner, there's a variety of leftovers that can be frozen for future use instead of being chucked out! For example, cranberry and bread sauces can be frozen for up to three months and roast potatoes can be frozen for up to four months. Check out this article for more information.


Food Waste Recycling

If you find that you still have some food that you need to dispose of, make sure to either compost or pop it into your food waste bin, which is collected each week. Make sure to leave out the following items into your food waste caddy:

  • Packaging of any kind
  • Liquids such as milk
  • Oil or liquid fat
  • Any material that is not food waste.

More information can be found on the website here. If you don't yet have a food bin, order one here.

Page last updated: 21 Mar 2023, 10:35 AM