Council encourages residents to 'Love Your Leftovers: Feast Smart, Waste Less' this Christmas

Christmas is a time for celebration, generosity and shared meals with friends and family. However, festive feasts can also bring added pressure to household budgets and often lead to increased food waste.

With research showing that Christmas dinner items may cost around 4% more this year*, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council is supporting Love Food Hate Waste’s nationwide festive campaign, encouraging everyone to Love Your Leftovers: Feast Smart, Waste Less by planning meals carefully, storing food correctly and making the most of what they buy. For festive food tips, storage guides and leftover recipe ideas, visit lovefoodhatewaste.com.

Across the UK, millions of tonnes of edible food are thrown away every year. For a typical household of four, this waste costs approximately £1,000 annually — more than twenty times the average per-person spend on Christmas Day food and drink. Food waste also contributes significantly to climate change, with around 16 million tonnes of CO₂ generated from wasted food and drink in UK homes each year.

To help reduce this, the campaign offers practical guidance on storing festive foods, portion planning, reducing over-purchasing and making delicious meals from leftovers. These small steps can help households save money, reduce waste and enjoy their Christmas celebrations with less stress.

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Philip Campbell said, “Christmas is a wonderful time for families across our district, but it can also lead to buying and cooking more food than we need. I’m pleased to support the Love Your Leftovers: Feast Smart, Waste Less campaign, which provides practical advice to help households stretch their budgets further and cut down on unnecessary waste.

“By planning ahead, storing food correctly and making good use of leftovers, we can all make a positive difference for our households, our community and our environment.”

Catherine David, CEO at WRAP, said, “A third of all the food we grow is wasted and it’s especially noticeable at Christmas: a time when we want to put on a feast, but when household budgets are stretched. We can make our cash go further and protect our planet’s precious resources by making the most of our leftovers and following Love Food Hate Waste’s simple tips to help ensure good food ends up on our plates and not in the bin.”

The festive season often leads to full fridges, busy freezers and overflowing cupboards, making it easy to lose track of what food has been bought and when it needs to be used. Nearly 40% of household food waste occurs because food is not used in time. Simple steps such as storing most fruit and vegetables in the fridge, understanding the difference between best before and use by dates, and freezing suitable items before they reach their use by date can help reduce waste.

Around a quarter of household food waste in the UK happens because too much food is prepared or cooked. Planning meals in advance, checking what is already in the kitchen and considering guest numbers and dietary needs can help avoid unnecessary waste. Online tools such as Love Food Hate Waste’s Portion Calculator can also help households get quantities right for festive gatherings.

In the days between Christmas and New Year, leftovers can be easily transformed into quick, affordable meals such as soups, curries or sandwiches, helping to save both food and money.

Any unavoidable food waste should be placed in the food waste recycling caddy where a collection service is available. Recycling food waste supports renewable energy production and creates nutrient-rich bio-fertiliser, while reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill.

Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh said, “Over half of food waste happens in our homes, so reheating extra roasties or making a traditional turkey curry can save money and cut carbon emissions. Small changes can make festive food go further and end up in the freezer, not the bin.”

Don’t let food waste be the unwelcome guest of Christmas future.