Retailers encouraged to efficiently recycle festive stock leftovers

A notable industry survey has found that some  44% of UK retailers are left with excess stock after Christmas and New Year discounting, leaving a potentially significant issue with how to deal with waste items.

Businesses have strong incentives to change: reducing waste means lower disposal fees and improved sustainability credentials. To help tackle this issue, food waste experts at BusinessWaste.co.uk have shared practical tips for reusing leftover stock.

As the organisation noted, many seasonal goods can be repurposed into meal kits for recipes like soups or curries. Consequently, shoppers can be encouraged to take home festive produce by repackaging it into a bundle with a recipe idea included.

Promote longer shelf life items
Understanding that products will last can encourage consumers to add them to their baskets. This extends to some snacking items and festive specialities such as Christmas puddings are all examples of items which have a long shelf life and can be stored for a while before consumption.

Donate what you can’t sell
Donating unsold stock can be a genuine win for everyone involved. It reduces waste, supports charities in high demand and helps avoid unwanted waste disposal costs when items are still in good condition.

However, a business donating excess stock to charity must ensure that the items are safe, usable and in good condition. If stock is broken, faulty, contaminated or otherwise unfit, it is legally classed as waste and must be managed through proper disposal routes, not passed to a charity.

Consider composting
Once other options are exhausted, on-site composting or partnering with a provider can be a great way to move food waste higher up the waste hierarchy and ensure a greater environmental saving. Composting is a circular option which turns waste into resources.

Mark Hall, speaking on food waste, comments: “It’s common to be left with large amounts of unsold stock after the festive season, but there are plenty of creative ways to prevent this from going to waste. Most of these ideas rely on clearly communicating to customers and re-imagining products and packaging, so that customers see the value of items come January.

“Repackaging items into bundles, promoting them, or donating are all better options for your businesses – providing a way to reduce waste, boost your sustainability goals and also reduce costs.”