With tough economic conditions continuing to take their toll on the average family, it seems that households are making a conscious effort to reduce their food waste. Indeed according to the UK Government’s Waste & Resources Action Programme, there has been a 13 per cent reduction in household food waste since 2006-2007.
It finds that the amount thrown away each year has been reduced from 8.3million tonnes to 7.2million tonnes. However, food worth £12billion a year is still being binned, with the average family wasting £680 annually.
Reusing food is the key
According to Wrap, the financial value of the food being wasted is the same as it was three years ago, even though we are binning less. Indeed if we were not making the effort to reduce our food wastage, the financial loss could have been £2.5billion higher – taking the total to £14.5billion for the year.
The reduction in food waste has had a number of benefits. For example, it has saved local councils in the UK up to £80million a year due to lower landfill charges. Some councils, however, are taking the action one step further by converting food waste into fertiliser and electricity using an anaerobic digester.
Individual consumers can take action too, by making all the efforts possible to reuse food. For example, you could use leftover chicken from a main meal, and turn it into coronation chicken for a sandwich the next day. Similarly, food shoppers should be careful to only buy what they need. Try to make a “meal plan” for each night of the week and set out a clear shopping list – to help you avoid unnecessary purchases.
Discounts on food shopping
Christmas is right around the corner and you may have already started to stock up in preparation for the big event. However, before you make any additional food or drink related purchases, check out the food voucher codes section of Moneysaver.ie.
For example, you can currently save five per cent on the entire site at Hampergifts.co.uk – including luxury hampers full of all your festive favourites. Similarly, you could save five per cent on all the items at the Virginia Hayward website, including its season’s greetings and winter wonderland hampers. Or, if you have a sweet tooth, you could save eight per cent on all orders, excluding sales items, at Chocolate Trading Company.
You could also save on your drinking purchases for Christmas too. Vintage Wine Gifts, the UK’s top internet retailer of vintage wine, port, whisky and champagne, is offering a £5 discount on any order. So check out what’s available in the food and drink voucher code section of Moneysaver.ie now and act fast before these offers expire.
Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash