Post-Christmas Food Waste Facts and Foibles

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Food Waste - how it is recycled from RecycleNow on Vimeo.

Almost all of us waste food, whether we'd like to admit it or not. Although some items are destined for waste, like fruit peels, egg shells and meat bones, we throw away food that is perfectly edible, sometimes without realising. Here are some food waste facts, provided by Recycle Now and Love Food Hate Waste:

1. Approximately 7 million tonnes of food waste is generated in the UK each year
2. The average household wastes around £470 worth of food per year
3. The average family wastes around £700 worth of food per year
4. About half of the food wasted in the UK comes from our own homes
5. Wasting edible food contributes to 4% of the UK water footprint
6. The common food to be wasted is fresh food, such as, vegetables, fruit, bread, etc.
7. In the UK, we chuck more food in the bin than the packaging around it
8. If you throw food in the bin, the waste goes to landfills where it decomposes and releases vast stores of methane. This is equivalent to the emissions produced by 25% of cars in the UK, and thus is conducive to deadly climate change.
9. HOWEVER, food waste reduced by 1 million tonnes from 2007 and 2012. And potentially more since. If we follow France's example of retailers donating their surplus, then we can seriously make a huge impact!

Source: www.foodwastenetwork.org.uk

I thought this post to be particularly apt the day after Christmas, a day in which we engorge and spoil ourselves greatly, and consume lots of food (probably more than is necessary). This ultimately results in large quantities of waste. Although we can treat ourselves to this one day of indulgence every year, in a world where 793 million go hungry, it would the very least to ensure that we try to utilise all our leftovers. Here are a few recipes to consider before throwing away those tasty bites!

• Turkey and Potato Curry, instead of curry paste, make your own here
• Put any leftovers on your own homemade pizza
• Take a Moroccan twist with your leftovers with this Fruity Turkey Tagine
• Use your root veg to make a tasty Leftover Veg & Orange Cake
• Try a Christmas Leftover Pie
• Or, absolutely ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE!