During the holiday season, many of us attend holiday parties with friends and family. Part of this is enjoying tasty dishes that we only indulge in once a year. It's all too easy to waste food when our eating routines are all over the place. While it's not the first waist-related issue that comes to mind, the waste problem can be significant!

Meal Planning & Leftover Tips

• When we think of the holidays, we picture cornucopias overflowing with tons of food, but how do you avoid wasting (while ensuring you have plenty for the big meal)? Only buy the amount of ingredients you need for each dish you cook – that way, you don’t have half a bag of dried cranberries that end up in the garbage.
• Before you buy your turkey, get a headcount of guests, then use Save the Food’s Guest-imator. They even let you account for small, medium, and big eaters, so you can be sure to have the right amount of food.
• Send your guests home with leftovers in reusable containers. This not only helps clean out your fridge but keeps you from being stuck with a fridge full of leftovers that could go bad before you can eat them all.
• Some people never get tired of leftovers, but others aren't crazy about them. If a turkey sandwich every day for a week just isn’t your thing, try a leftover makeover! (This will also help keep those leftovers out of the landfill.) For links to recipes using leftovers, check out our Facebook page!
• If you've tired yourself out creating new recipes with your leftovers, try feeding people instead of landfills. Forty-four million Americans struggle with hunger - including nearly 700,000 South Carolinian's - according to Feeding America. Food donation is a great way to provide surplus food to those who need it while recycling your leftovers. Besides, aren't the holidays part of the season of giving?
• If you cannot donate or reuse your leftovers, try composting. Sending wasted food to a commercial composter or composting at home can improve soil health and structure, increase water retention, support native plants, and reduce the need for fertilizers and pesticides.

Dispose of Used Cooking Oil the Right Way

Never pour oil down your sink, drain, toilet, or into your yard. Also, you shouldn’t pour fat, oil, or grease into your compost – too much fat will ruin the material. Many recycling centers around the state accept used cooking oil for recycling. For information in your area, check RecycleHereSC.