Festive food for thought

TV CHEF Hazel Thomas will be cooking up some Christmas treats as part of a festive ‘Food for Thought’ event in Cross Hands.

Waste awareness officers from Carmarthenshire County Council have organised the event at Cross Hands Co-op on Friday, December 10, from 11am to 2pm.

Hazel, who is a regular face on S4C, will be showing us how we can use our leftovers to make another meal and there will be lots of other hints and tips on how residents can cut down on their food waste.

In a normal week, a family of four throws away £12 on food. But given the size of the typical Christmas shopping trolley, the amount of money we waste during the last week of December is likely to be much more.

A few simple changes however can make a big difference to your festive food bills and the environment.

Council waste minimisation/recycling officer Karen McNeil said:  “Simple measures like writing, and sticking to, food shopping lists, adopting better portion control, and storing food correctly will all help avoid food waste helping to cut the cost of Christmas. And remember, there’s no need to panic buy huge stocks of food, most of the supermarkets will be open again on Boxing Day!”

Residents are also being reminded to recycle as much as possible. As Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on a Saturday this year, there are no changes to refuse/recycling collections in Carmarthenshire. This means your waste will be collected on its usual day throughout the festive period.

Executive board member for the environment Councillor Philip Hughes said: “With all the eating, drinking and merry-making we tend to produce a lot more rubbish at this time of the year which is why it’s more important than ever to recycle our waste properly.”

For further information visit www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk