100,000 turkeys in the bin at Christmas
Staggering scale of waste as Scots urged: Plan ahead
IT is a time of year associated with indulgence and gluttony.
But almost 70million meals and £11.5million worth of meat and poultry are set to go to waste across Scotland this Christmas, according to research.
A study for Zero Waste Scotland estimates the equivalent of 100,000 turkeys will be thrown out during the festive season, and more than half a million roast potatoes will be binned on Christmas Day.
The survey, conducted by YouGov on behalf of the waste watchdog, also revealed that 84 per cent of Scottish households will have leftover food on Christmas Day because of poor planning.
Scottish households will also throw out around than two million slices of bread every day throughout December and waste more than £12million worth of vegetables.
As many as a million Scots who celebrate Christmas leave shopping for food until the last minute – with 21 per cent saying they or someone in their household buys food the week of Christmas and 43 per cent saying they buy it in the third week of December.
More than a third said that they do not do any planning before hitting the shops to buy their Christmas meal.
In contrast, one in five says their festive food planning begins in November or earlier.
Overall, a quarter of Scots admitted to feeling worried or stressed when shopping for food for Christmas Day.
Zero Waste Scotland has partnered with Dr Esther Papies from
Glasgow University’s School of Psychology to develop a series of simple tips to ease anxiety around feeding family and friends.
Dr Papies said: ‘Christmas food shopping can seem really difficult. Most of our eating during the rest of the year is influenced by our habits, but around Christmas everything changes and our usual habits don’t work. The food we eat and the number of people we cook for are usually very different over Christmas compared to the rest of the year.
‘As a result, we often end up buying and preparing far too much food.
‘Remember, your Christmas meal doesn’t need to be too big or perfect – focus on what Christmas feels like, not what it looks like. Make enjoying time with friends and family a priority, with a nice home-cooked meal part of the experience.’
It is estimated that around 67million meals will go to waste in Scotland in December. Festive favourites including turkey, roast potatoes and Brussels sprouts are most likely to go uneaten.
Iain Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: ‘As a nation, we will waste thousands of tons of food this festive season, a lot of which is avoidable.
‘To put this into context, more than £11.5million of meat and poultry will be thrown away throughout December.
‘Everyone really wants to enjoy Christmas Day, however no one likes throwing away money or good food.’