food waste

There is a huge increase in composting activity and again it is so easy to do, it just takes a bit of effort. We are trying to do our bit with The Love food Hate waste campaign and encourage the recycling and re-use of composted material. All the Remarkable products made from UK recycled food and garden waste really work. We use them on our desk at work to grow salad to add when having lunch!

Here are some facts and information on this to give you some ideas,

  • The best thing that can happen to food is that it makes it to our plates and is enjoyed.
  • Avoiding throwing out food that could have been eaten will save you money and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  • However some food waste is inevitable. Egg shells, banana skins and tea bags are never going to be on the menu.
  • Home composting is a great way to stop this sort of waste ending up in landfill, and our gardens will really thank us for it. See our Home Composting website for all you need to know about home composting. If you live in an area that has a local food waste recycling collection service, you can use this to dispose of anything you can’t eat, or compost at home. It can be recycled into a good quality soil improver or fertiliser and even generate electricity that can be fed back into the national grid.
  • The best thing that can happen to food is that it makes it to our plates and is enjoyed.
  • Avoiding throwing out food that could have been eaten will save you money and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  • However some food waste is inevitable. Egg shells, banana skins and tea bags are never going to be on the menu.

Home composting is a great way to stop this sort of waste ending up in landfill, and our gardens will really thank us for it. See our Home Composting website for all you need to know about home composting. If you live in an area that has a local food waste recycling collection service, you can use this to dispose of anything you can’t eat, or compost at home. It can be recycled into a good quality soil improver or fertiliser and even generate electricity that can be fed back into the national grid.

  • 8.3 million tonnes of food is thrown away by households in the UK every year, and most of it could have been eaten.
  • Little by little all this waste adds up, over a year the average family throws away £680 of food shopping – equivalent to an annual utility bill.
  • Most of t he waste ends up in landfill sites where it rots and releases methane, a damaging green house gas.
  • Throwing away food is also a huge waste of the energy, water and packaging used in its production, transportation and storage. If we all stopped wasting the food which could have been eaten, it would have the same CO2 impact as taking 1 in 4 cars off UK roads

Many councils now collect food waste, which can be recycled in one of two ways.

  • In-vessel composting, involves mixing food waste with garden waste, shredding it and composting it in a tunnel or container for around two to four weeks. Temperatures of up to 70 degrees C speed up the process and kill any harmful microbes. It is then left for a further 1-3 months with regular turning and checks to ensure quality, before going on to be used as soil conditioner.
  • Anaerobic Digestion, uses micro-organisms called ‘methanogens’ to break down food waste, animal manures and energy crops in the absence of oxygen, inside an enclosed tank. As it breaks down, it gives off ‘bio-gas’ that is collected and used to generate electricity, heat or transport fuels. It also creates bio fertiliser, which can be used in farming and land regeneration.
  • Reducing food waste is a major issue and not just about good food going to waste; wasting food costs the average family with children £50 a month and has serious environmental implications too.
  • The amount of food we throw away is a waste of resources. Just think about all the energy, water and packaging used in food production, transportation and storage. This all goes to waste when we throw away perfectly good food.
  • Cheese is a good example – feeding and milking the cows, cooling and transporting the milk, processing it in to cheese, packing it, getting it to the shops, keeping it at the right temperature all the time. If it then gets thrown away it will most likely end up in a landfill site, where, rather than harmlessly decomposing as many people think, it rots and actually releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas
  • Don’t forget to try to avoid wasting food in the first place – (for ideas and simple tips visit Love Food Hate Waste) and also try to compost at home.
  • A food waste caddy in your kitchen can help you to separate out your food waste for recycling and composting. This can be emptied into your compost bin or council food waste bin every couple of days.
  • Your council may recommend that you line your food waste caddy with a liner or newspaper. Only use liners that are recommended by your council as some may not break down in the composting process.
  • Where possible keep your bins out of direct sunlight and keep the bin lid closed.