It’s that time of year when diets go out the window and everyone stocks up on their yuletide favourites but often people find themselves with leftover turkey, mince pies and party snacks.
This Christmas, Dorset County Council is urging residents to expand their wallets, not their waste. The average UK family throws away around 50 worth of food a month this rises to 680 a year for a families with children imagine what this extra cash could be spent on next Christmas.
Making the most of the freezer, keeping an eye on use-by dates and using leftovers in delicious recipes can all help people to make savings on their food budgets as well as help care for the environment. The Love Food Hate Waste campaign has these great tips to reduce food waste over the festive period:- Keep tabs on the use-by dates of perishables and freeze anything you won t eat in time
- If you make too much don t throw it away, freeze it and eat on a cold January evening
- Stuffing, bread sauce, cranberry sauce and brandy butter can all be made ahead of time and frozen
- Make your own mince pies and freeze them uncooked they’re a great standby snack
- Unsure how much to cook? Try Love Food Hate Waste’s perfect portion calculator (www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/perfect_portions) to find out how much you need to cook for Christmas dinner
- Love your leftovers – make a tasty turkey and chickpea curry or Christmas pudding ice cream with your leftovers. Find more festive leftover recipes at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
- Don’t forget Christmas cake, meat, potatoes, cheese and bread can be frozen
Dorset County Council s Cabinet member for environment Robert Gould said:
Making the most of our food and saving money this Christmas doesn t mean cutting down on indulgence and fun. By planning meals in advance, checking the cupboards and fridge, knowing use-by dates and creating tasty leftovers, we can all enjoy an extra bit of cash and make sure uneaten food doesn t end up in the bin.
It also helps the environment by reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill. It currently costs the county council around 70 for every tonne landfilled and this cost is set to rise dramatically over the next few years.
And it s not all about reducing the amount of uneaten food thrown away, residents can also keep their waste in shape with these tips:
- Keep your recycling box next to the bin and remember to tell guests what can be recycled
- Avoid goods with unnecessary packaging or try to buy items packaged in recyclable materials
- Look out for gifts with a high recycled content or made from recyclable materials
- Send e-cards or ones made from recycled paper
- Compost vegetable peelings
- Buy gift wrap made from recycled paper and don’t use more than you need for each present
For more information visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.
