Shropshire families to spend £133 on Christmas food
Wednesday 21st December 2011, 12:00PM GMT.
The average Shropshire family is expected to splash out £133.70 on food for the Christmas table, according to a new survey.
But the same survey, commissioned by food waste disposer maker InSinkErator, also found that 56 per cent of householders admit they will throw away up to 30 per cent of that extra Christmas food.
Across the whole of the UK it adds up to about £600 million worth of food being thrown into the bin just from Christmas dinners alone.
When the festive season comes people often find themselves catering for extra people. Shropshire residents are being urged to use the free Christmas dinner or party portion calculator at lovefoodhatewaste.com to remove the guess work of portion sizes.
Councillor Mike Owen, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for waste and recycling, said: “Everyone loves Christmas and wants to get into the spirit of things with special treats. But we could all do with some extra cash in our pockets at this time of year, so visit Love Food Hate Waste to find out how you could save money and the environment by wasting less food.”
The survey discovered that Britain will spend a massive £3.3 billion on food for the Christmas table this year but discard more than 20 per cent of it.
The knock-on effect of that wastage is that 66 per cent of the nation will use up to four extra bin bags to discard their unwanted Christmas food in 2011 – approximately 50 million bin bags of extra rubbish just for unwanted Christmas Day food.
InSinkErator spokesman Ashley Munden said: “The environmental impact of our seasonal celebrations is clearly felt across the nation. The environmental impact is a concern – there is a huge amount of landfill required to house all that waste.”
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Please can I use this opportunity to remind all readers of the Shropshire Star of an important Christmas message.
During this time of year when most people are sitting down to expensive and gluttonous foods with their friends and loved ones it is all too easy to forget that peristalsis is inevitable and that bog roll should be on your shopping list.
Thank you.
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