Warnings Over Festive Food Waste

The equivalent of 280,000 turkeys is thrown away in Scotland every Christmas.

Politicians and charities are calling on Scots to be careful with how much food they buy over the festive season to cut down on wastage.

Around 50,000 tonnes of food and drink is binned during december. The Scottish Food minister Richard Lochhead plans to introduce a Scottish food waste reduction target.

He said: "Christmas is fast approaching – just four weeks to go – and at this exciting time of year many people across the country will be starting to plan their festive menus and thinking about what food they’ll buy to see them through the season.

"Let’s enjoy the season, and let’s also be careful about what we need in order to avoid too much food going straight from the fridge to the bin. Scotland throws away 50,000 tonnes of food and drink in December – and the equivalent of 280,000 turkeys and 3.5 million mince pies. 

"If we can avoid that, we’re not only doing our bit for the environment, creating a cleaner, greener Scotland, but we also might find we’re a bit better off come January – and that’s a Christmas bonus we’d all enjoy."