Food waste is a growing scourge in the UK, with more than seven million tonnes being discarded annually by households. What’s worse, the waste we produce increases by 30 per cent during the festive season, with Unilever calculating over four million Christmas dinners are thrown away every year. That’s equivalent to 263,000 turkeys, 7.5 million mince pies, 740,000 portions of Christmas pudding and 11.3 million roast potatoes.

With a large proportion of that finding its way into landfill, it’s estimated food waste alone emits 19 million tonnes of greenhouse gasses into the environment which, in turn, promote the greenhouse effect. And if that wasn’t enough to make you change your habits, if all the wasted Brussels sprouts alone were recycled into energy, we could power a home for three years, according to ReFood.

The good news is there are changes we can make to reduce the amount of our individual food waste at Christmas.

FAIL TO PREPARE, PREPARE TO FAIL

Not only does writing a shopping list and planning meals ahead of time save money, but they can also reduce food waste. For example, how many times have you ended up with a spare leek or bag of potatoes in the fridge with no idea how to incorporate them into a meal? By writing a shopping list and most importantly, sticking to it, you can eliminate these odds and ends that go to waste. Or, as is customary at Christmas, put that leftover stuffing in a turkey sandwich and call it a meal!

GET IN SINK WITH INSINKERATOR

Though prevention is better than cure, no matter how hard you try, food waste at Christmas is inevitable. We blame all that pre-dinner snacking on a never-ending parade of chocolate.

Luckily there is an alternative to unsightly food caddies which not only take up valuable surface space but are, quite frankly, an offence to the senses. The alternative is an InSinkErator waste disposal unit. It may not sound sexy, but using totally safe, knife-less technology to grind your scraps into minute particles, InSinkErator can dispose of your leftovers via your household waste water pipe in seconds.

Luckily, there is an InSinkErator unit for everyone too, which means larger broods on Christmas Day are no trouble at all. And, once you have disposed of your potato peelings and turkey bones in your sink, the particles can often be processed to yield valuable biogas or fertiliser for agriculture, making it a win-win for the environment, and your kitchen.

UTILISE YOUR FREEZER
We’re all well aware nowadays that freezing vegetables is one of the best ways to preserve nutrients and flavour, but freezers are often underutilised when it comes to reducing food waste.

For instance, by freezing leftovers in individual portions, you can defrost one meal at a time rather than thawing out a stew that serves eight…

DON’T BULK BUY PERISHABLES

Buying in bulk is often considered a cost-effective way to shop, but bulk buying perishable food is false economy.

Often, the perishables on offer (or sold as a multi-pack) have short sell-by dates, leaving you with just two days to devour a sack of potatoes, three turkeys and six pints of milk. Think smart and buy only what you need for the week.

Shop the entire InSinkErator range online here. 

Feeling lucky? Enter to win one of three Insinkerator Food Waste Disposers plus installation worth over £525 each here.