Let’s waste less at Christmas! Let’s waste less food at Christmas

Christmas is a time of the year where many of us buy an increased amount of food to celebrate the season with people we’re closest to. We often treat ourselves to more expensive foods that we might not eat every day. It’s a busy time of year and without careful planning it’s easy to buy more than we need and end up wasting it, adding to the cost of Christmas.  

To help save money and make the most of your food this Christmas, we’ve come up with five top tips: 

1. Plan, plan, plan! Think about how many people you will be serving, if there are any dietary requirements and how you could use any leftovers. Make a shopping list as you go through what you already have in your cupboard, fridge, and freezer. 
2. Be specific. When you write your shopping list, be specific in the quantities, particularly loose items such as carrots or potatoes, so you buy exactly what you need. 
3. Keep your eye on the dates. When you go shopping make sure to check the use by dates are sufficient for when you plan on serving the food and make a shelf in the fridge for any short-dated items. It’s also worth checking if the food can be frozen to extend its life.  
4. Storage. Make sure to store the food where it will last the longest – you can find out all about storing your food on our Get to know your dates page. If you end up cooking too much, portion leftovers out into containers, cool within two hours, and then store in either the fridge (for a couple of days) or the freezer (indefinitely). Visit Savour your surplus for further tips.  
5. Remember the freezer. On the lead up to Christmas, try using up some of the food in your freezer so you have enough room for extra purchases, or anything left over from the festive period. If you’re buying in advance and freezing some of the food, make sure to defrost it safely, according to instructions – see food hygiene below. 

If you need further help with planning your Christmas food, Love Food Hate Waste have a very helpful guide.  

It’s also important to note that in Leicestershire, food waste is one of the largest contaminants in kerbside recycling. This Christmas, please be mindful of the food you buy and dispose of any food that cannot be eaten in your rubbish bin at home – not your recycling bin. 

Christmas food hygiene 

Thinking about food hygiene when planning, storing, cooking, reusing and freezing food will hopefully help you to avoid wasting food unnecessarily. The Food Standards Agency have some good advice, including following their 4 Cs – see links below: 

• cleaning  

• chilling 

• cooking, and avoiding 

• cross-contamination 

Composting at Christmas 

In addition to the usual uncooked fruit and vegetable peels, eggshells, tea leaves and coffee grounds, remember that you can also add in some of your cardboard and paper packaging to balance the mix. You might also have some seasonal items to compost once Christmas is over, such as natural foliage from decorations and wreaths. Remember to remove anything artificial, painted and wire and plastic ties first.  

Further guidance on composting can be found on our home composting page. 

While composting is a faster process in warm weather it’s still good to add items all year round and will help your bin to get up to speed once the weather picks up. If you have a wormery, remember to move it into a warmer place, such as a garage or shed or wrap it up to protect if from the cold. For further information see Winter Composting|Carryoncomposting.com.