At Christmas, we think about family and presents. This year please spare a thought for our planet and try to avoid food waste as much as possible. Each year nearly 1 million tons of food is wasted in Ireland, a large part comes from cooking too much at the end of the year.
At Greyhound Recycling we know we can help you to reduce this by sharing our best anti-food waste Christmas tips!
-
Plan your menu in advance
Our first tip to reduce waste is to plan your meals and be real about how much each person will eat. Save yourself the money and buy what you’ll need, not too much.
Guests will probably bring food or drink with them, which will adds up. So, make a precise shopping list of what you need and resist the temptation to buy more than you need. Top tip – Do not go shopping on an empty stomach!
-
Use the food you already have and organise your cupboards!
Your Christmas meal is now in a few days, the meal and the number of guests are planned and the shopping list is ready. But are you sure you had a good look in your cupboards? It could be that some foods are hiding at the back, take a peak.
Consider the expiration dates of your foods, and try to use ingredients that are closer to their expiration date first.
-
Your freezer is your friend
Some foods can stay freshly frozen in your freezer for weeks. All you have to do is defrost everything to make a second Christmas meal in February! The joys!
-
Give it to your family or friends
‘Tis the season for giving. Box it up airtight and send your friends home with leftovers. You’ll be the talk of the town.
-
Get creative to eat it in another way the next day
Our last piece of advice is to be creative! Try to imagine how you can reuse your leftovers in another dish.
For example, turning your potatoes and carrots into a puree – yum!
-
Start a compost bin.
Your garden will thank you for it and your black bin weights will definitely go down. We have another blog with tips on how to start your own compost bin.
With all these tips, we are sure that you will reduce or stop your food waste over Christmas. However, the end-of-year period is not the only time for food waste, so do not hesitate to apply these tips throughout the rest of the year. Our planet will be grateful.
Greyhound Recycle wishes you a Merry Christmas!
Our top tips to recycle over Christmas
- Reducing Christmas Wrapping Paper Waste
- Send Ecards to friends and family
- Consider renting a tree this year
- Natural decorations
- Christmas Tree Recycling Locations
- Compost for the food
