Food waste up 80% at Christmas, says WRAP

We waste a huge amount of food in the UK, but at Christmas it rises by a staggering 80 per cent, according to new research from WRAP. This adds up to 230,000 tonnes of festive food; millions of turkeys, mince pies and Christmas puddings -- the turkey and Christmas puddings we can understand, but how can a mince pie survive the holidays without being eaten?

All this wasted food is a terrible burden for the environment, but it's also a waste of money -- an estimated £275 million, according to the figures from the Love Food Hate Waste campaign run by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme.)

"Christmas is a time for indulgence but it's very easy to find you've cooked a little too much," says Ainsley Harriott, TV chef extraordinaire. "If we get our portions right, we not only help the environment, we can keep money in our pockets for the New Year sales!"

As well as all the energy used in producing and shipping this food, when it arrives in landfill it also decomposes and releases methane, which further speeds up climate change.

Consumers seem to be deluded about what they actually do throw away: 68 per cent of people claim that they don't throw out any vegetables, and 41 per cent say that no turkey is thrown out. Someone must be throwing out all this grub, though.

"By taking a few simple steps we could reduce the amount being wasted, which would have a big impact stopping this amount of food waste each year, would be the same as taking one in five cars off UK roads," says Liz Goodwin, WRAP chief executive.

The Love Food Hate Waste campaign has a perfect portions calculator to help you better plan your Christmas dinner and avoid wasted food on their website.

Related Links

• SmartPlanet