Love Food Hate Waste

Composting produces rich soil for plants

UK households are throwing away 8.3m tonnes of food a year, most of which is perfectly edible.  A typical family with kids bins £680 worth. Equally unsettling is the environmental cost - the wasted water and energy in growing and transporting uneaten food and the methane it produces in landfill. So, how can we do better?

 

1) Send less food to landfill
WRAP, the UK authority on waste & recycling, recommends that we plan meals, manage portions, keep an eye on ‘use by’ dates, and freeze surplus (See lovefoodhatewaste.com).

 

2) Compost food waste
Over 30% of average household waste could be composted. Peelings and tea bags can be converted into rich food for your garden. Home composting doesn't starve waste of oxygen so it releases very little of the potent greenhouse gas methane.

 

3) Recycle food containers
On average the UK household sends around 600kg of waste to landfill every year. Why not recycle? Aluminium cans are one of the most cost effective materials to recycle. Compared to manufacture from scratch around 95% of energy can be saved. 80% of all glass sent to recycling reappears in the UK, mostly as new bottles and jars.


For more green, money saving tips, call the Energy Saving Trust on 0800 512 012.
 

Notes for editors:

  1. Facts and figures provided by WRAP – Waste & Resources Action Programme (wrap.org.uk). Energy Saving Trust endorses and promotes the advice supplied by WRAP. WRAP aims to help individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change. WRAP is behind the successful Love Food Hate Waste campaign (lovefoodhatewaste.com).
  2. This article was produced by United Sustainable Energy Agency (USEA). Contact: Gordon Glass, Marketing Co-ordinator.
    To email USEA staff please use the     firstname.lastname@usea.org.uk format.
  3. USEA (usea.org.uk) works in partnership with local authorities throughout Bucks, Berks, Beds, Herts, Oxon, Hants and the Isle of Wight. It operates an Energy Saving Trust advice centre for the South East and offers an insulation installer comparison service called Cocoon (cocoonyourhome.co.uk).
  4. The information contained within this article is correct to the best of our knowledge, but is subject to change.  USEA cannot in any way be held legally responsible for any advice given or any work carried out as a result of this information.
     

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