Reduce Food Waste this Holiday Season

A great way to give thanks this holiday season, is to make sure none of your food goes to waste! A report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) shows that 40 percent of food available to Americans is discarded, over 100 billion pounds of food is thrown away every year, just imagine how many hungry families your food waste could feed. Keep in mind that most of our uneaten food ends up rotting away in landfills.

To cut down on your holiday food waste follow these tips, and remember to show thanks for the food you are given.

1. Divide Food Into Smaller Portions

Some of us have eyes bigger than our stomachs, we load up our plates with more than we can handle in one sitting. Not only is this bad for you, its wasteful. Rather than loading up your plate and discarding the leftovers, start with a smaller plate and go back for seconds, or thirds, or even fourths if you’re that hungry! An easy way to ensure your guests don’t overload their plates is to set out smaller serving spoons and plates.

2. Give the Leftovers to Your Guests

If the smaller portions trick doesn’t work, then consider giving the remaining leftovers to your guests in reusable containers! Label them with their name and the date to give to them as they’re leaving, if you want to get the container back label it with your name to help remind them! Pack up extras of other dishes that are left for those guests who would like them. This helps you clean out your fridge, so you aren’t stuck with a fridge full of leftovers that will go bad before you can eat it all.

3. Save the Scraps

Peelings and trimmings can be reserved for many cooking uses. Wash all the vegetables before you peel, slice and chop. Save vegetable scraps in a plastic bag or glass jar in the freezer until you are ready to make a broth or stock. Onions, carrots, celery and garlic are key ingredients, but potatoes, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, bell pepper and leeks also add great flavor. Feel free to add any other vegetable scraps you may have. Once you are ready to make the broth, add the vegetable scraps to a large pot and add enough water to just cover the scraps. Bring it to a boil, then simmer for one hour. When that is complete, strain stock to remove solids, then you are left with a homemade broth.

We hope these tips will help you successfully cut down your food waste this holiday season! If you have other types of waste, including household waste, construction debris and more call us at Waste Solutions 123 for an affordable roll off dumpster!