Sustainable Christmas - Food Waste

The festive season is for friends, families and celebration, but many of us are looking for ways to make this time more sustainable.

From the things that we eat and wear, to the places we shop and the gifts we give, there are so many ways we can have a more sustainable festive season that won’t cost the planet.

Our Climate Officer has shared their plans and ideas for simple sustainable alternatives.

Christmas food waste is a common problem and it is easy to do. We buy heaps of everything to cater for everyone's taste buds from the snacks to the annual gastronomic extravaganza. Here are my tips on reducing Christmas food waste.

Plan in advance

Meal planning is a great way of working out exactly what you need to buy. Yes, I am one of those that has a meal planner on the wall for the week, but it really does cut down on what we throw away, saves me money and stops the mind numbing question 'what are we having for dinner tonight?'.

If you’re hosting, Love Food Hate Waste have a portion calculator to help you work out how much you need to cater for everyone including how many potatoes, vegetables and the size of the turkey to minimise how much goes to waste.

Keep guests informed

We all have that guest that brings items that you already have, as much as it is appreciated, tell your guests in advance if they need to bring anything. Well-meaning and generous guests may go overboard, adding to the problem of Christmas food waste.

Take advantage of the cold weather

If you’re out of fridge space, consider using outside. If it’s cold enough, uncooked hardy vegetables such as carrots and parsnips can be kept in cold outbuildings and stay fresh. 

Run down your freezer

Start to free up space in your freezer now. Leftover meat, vegetables and even cakes freeze well for use at another time. Freezing acts as a pause button. It is safe to freeze food right up until the use-by date.

Love Food Hate Waste have an A-Z on food storage guide, including how to freeze many different types of food.

Become a leftover champion!

Leftover Christmas turkey and vegetables can be turned into amazing new meals. Perfect if you have guests staying longer than a day or you’re too tired to make new meals from scratch.

Love Food Hate Waste have various creative recipes and ideas to make your Christmas leftovers go further. And if in doubt, there is always the Christmas sandwich.

Christmas does not need to be run like a zero-waste operation but with some careful planning and mindful shopping, you can still have fun and waste less. 

For the food waste you can't avoid

Although it is best to use what you buy, for the food waste you can't avoid remember to feed your food caddy. Your leftovers, turkey carcass, vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, tea bags and lots more food items can be placed in your food caddy to be recycled.

Find what other food items (most!) should be placed in your food caddy for recycling on our food waste webpage. 

Do you have any tips for combatting festive food waste? We’d love to hear them.