The tenth window of our Green Tips Advent Calendar opens to do something we all do at Christmas, share some food. December and all the festivities is a season of excess, and unfortunately that means lots of food is thrown away, whilst many people go without. If we could share some of our excess food, everyone’s Christmas will be merrier!
What a Waste
The waste generated at Christmas goes up by 30% compared to the waste created during the rest of the year. Over one in seven British consumers buy more food than they need. The biggest culprit is the food we consume. Approximately 66% of people admit to buying too much Christmas food that ends up in the bin. This binned food usually amounts to 42 million dishes of Christmas food.
The UK wastes around 270,000 tons of edible food is thrown away during the Christmas season, which is about seven million bins full of waste/one bin full for every ten people living in the UK. Some of the foods that includes are:
- Two million turkeys
- Five million Christmas puddings
- Five million mince pies
- 17 million Brussels sprouts
- 11 million roast potatoes
- 12 million carrots
- Seven million pigs in blankets
Of course carefully planning all the food you intend to serve over Christmas is the best way to reduce both waste and costs, even then you will almost certainly have an excess, but whatever you do – don’t throw it away. Consider these sustainable alternatives for what to do with your Christmas food waste:
Share Excess Food
- Share food with each other – our Food Sharers group on Tuesdays and Thursdays at ECO HUB or at anytime on Facebook is perfect for sharing excess food. And whilst you are there, we share excess food from supermarkets and foodbanks with you for free, and cook it at our Happy Cafes, to cut down on waste too. You can also share with neighbours, or family and friends, or via online apps like Olio.
- Donate festive food to a charity – any tinned or packaged Christmas foods such as biscuits, cakes, and mince pies are great to share with local foodbanks like The Daylight Centre and Redeem Foods. You could also donate leftover cooked food such as turkey, potatoes, and vegetables to an animal shelter like Animals in Need for feed.
Save, Reuse or Recycle Leftovers
- Freeze leftovers – you can freeze most Christmas leftovers including turkey and vegetables if you don’t plan to use them soon. Ensure they’re thoroughly cool before placing them in separate airtight bags or containers and popping in your freezer.
- Follow Christmas food waste recipes – there are countless recipes for Christmas food waste available. From classics such as turkey sandwiches, curries, and bubble and squeak, to risottos, vegetable soups and more, get creative with your leftovers.
- Compost food scraps – if you’ve got a compost pile in the garden and only a few Christmas food scraps left, add them to it. Fruit, vegetables, peelings, and even the turkey carcass can be composted (though it’s advised you cut it up first to speed up decomposition).
It’s easy to forget about the food waste created during the Christmas season as we are distracted by our festivities, but by getting into the true spirit of Christmas, by sharing, you’ll be on your way to reducing your festive food waste. Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!