Shoppers in Stratford District are being reminded of ways to avoid food waste and make the most of food during the festive period.
Stratford-on-Avon District Council is hosting a Love Food Hate Waste Roadshow to give tips on how to save money and enjoy a well planned, affordable Christmas without compromising on indulgence and fun. Free festive recipe cards on how to use up leftovers plus other exciting giveaways will be available on the day as well as advice on portion control, sell-by dates and storage.
The Stratford District roadshow will take place on Friday 10 December at the Corn Market at the junction of Sheep Street and High Street in Stratford-upon-Avon from 10am - 4pm.
There will also be an opportunity to learn about the District Council's recycling service and gain top tips about used wrapping paper, packaging from presents and how to reduce, reuse and recycle as well as changes to collections over the holiday period.
Each year large amounts of extra rubbish are produced over the festive period. Christmas is a time when the potential for recycling is much greater and residents should continue to recycle as much as possible.
Information about the national Love Food Hate Waste campaign, including food facts, hints and tips is available at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
Key facts
- Since the Love Food Hate Waste campaign launched, 2 million homes are feeling the benefits of cutting back on the food they waste, saving £400 million
- We throw food and drink out for two main reasons: 1) we let it go off, either completely untouched, or opened/started but not finished, costing £6.7 billion per year; or 2) we cook or prepare too much, costing us £4.8 billion per year.
- In terms of weight: 5.3 million tonnes of food and drink is thrown out every year in the UK - such as cheese, milk & juice, meat and fish, fruit and vegetables and bread. This figure does not include anything we wouldn't normally eat, like peelings, bones or crusts.
- Wasting food has a huge environmental impact - if we stopped throwing food and drink away, it would save the equivalent of at least 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. That's like taking 1 in every 4 cars off our roads.
- Food and drink waste is damaging to the environment because producing, storing and getting the food to our homes uses a lot of energy and resources - all of which are wasted when it gets binned. And most of this reaches landfill sites where it emits methane a powerful green house gas.
Top tips to reduce waste at Christmas
- Some of the major supermarkets are only closed for one day over the festive period, don't be tempt to over buy.
- Prepare a meal plan for the festive period and buy according to this.
- Buy an artificial Christmas tree. If you do buy a real tree, you can put it in your green bin for composting after twelfth night - you may have to cut it up so the bin lid closes.
- Don't just throw away your Christmas cards, recycle them.
- Buy items with minimal packaging to reduce waste. You could buy loose fruit and vegetables, choose items in bulk or, if you need to buy packaged goods, select those with packaging that can be recycled in your recycling bin or local recycling centre.
- Think about using a "bag for life" or a cotton bag, rather than accepting lots of plastic bags each time you shop.
- Save good wrapping paper to reuse next year.
- Consider buying friends and family a different Christmas present this year; one with less packaging. You could buy concert tickets, a day out or gift vouchers. Alternatively, how about supporting a good cause by sponsoring a project or activity such as kitting out a school in Africa or providing a special day out for a disabled child. A number of charities offer such schemes, and you will receive a gift card explaining your chosen gift.
- Consider buying presents made from recycled materials. This helps create a market for the recycling we collect from you, and reduces the need for raw materials in manufacturing.
- Make it your New Year's resolution to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible.
