Zero Waste Scotland is offering a helping hand  with ready-prepared Christmas Day menus and handy shopping lists.

In a bid to reduce food waste this festive season, Zero Waste Scotland and National Chef, Gary Maclean, are offering Waste-Free Christmas Shopping Lists for last minute cooks.

To get quantities right and avoid over-buying and the consequent foodwaste, these handy shopping lists include traditional menus for two, four and eight people, and a vegan option too.

Turkey for 4 people  a 2.5-3 kg turkey

Turkey for 7 – 8 people  a 2.5-4 kg

Turkey for 10 = 12 people  a 5.5-6kg turkey

Zero Waste Scotland is promoting a pre-planned Christmas Day dinner after revealing 84% of Scottish households are set to waste a staggering amount of food this Christmas Day. We could be throwing out the equivalent of over 100,000 turkeys and half a million potatoes.

Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said:

 “It’s time to think differently. At the time of year when we show how much we care for the people in our lives, we can also all show how much we care for the planet. Everyone wants to fight climate change and Christmas is the perfect time to support the cause.

“We’re urging Scots to think about how much food they really need to buy and  we’re helping them to plan, shop and cook for a low-waste, low stress, low-cost Christmas Day.”

Food waste is a huge contributor to climate change. When we waste food, we waste all the resources that went into producing it. And food waste has a nasty kick . When sent to rot in landfill, it pumps out methane, a greenhouse gas that’s much more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide.

For Waste Free Shopping Lists for traditional Christmas dinners for 2, 4 and 8 people, as well as Vegan menus, visit https://scotland.lovefoodhatewaste.com/article/waste-free-christmas-shopping-lists