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News & Media > Environmental Services

29:03:2010

Food waste: the next recycling frontier?

With as little as two years to go before new legislation could be introduced to ban food waste from going to landfill, Nicola Peake, managing director, May Gurney Environmental Services, explains that there is no time to waste.

“The ‘Noughties’ saw the UK shift from a throw-away society to one where most of us embraced recycling into everyday life. Whether it was re-using carrier bags or making a conscious effort to reduce waste at home, we became a nation of recyclers.

“But there is one area that the country has yet to take to its heart – food waste. And it’s not through lack of public support, but a lack of opportunity to get involved.

“However, that could all be set to change with the publication of a new government report which recommends that local authorities must capture and dispose of food waste through composting or energy generation schemes, such as in vessel composting or anaerobic digestion.

“The targets set would be far in excess of the 30% of food waste currently recycled, marking a significant step-change for local authorities.

“A quick review of the last decade indicates how food waste collections evolved. In the early years some pioneering authorities piloted food waste collections, followed by a small number of council-wide schemes in the middle part of the decade.

“The trials by early-adopters proved that food waste collections were feasible, affordable and had public acceptance. And the data spoke for itself – food waste collections delivered a dramatic waste reduction effect.

“Government research has also revealed that 78% of the public support separate collection for food waste. But in reality, people cannot turn this passion into action, because they are not given the tools to recycle food waste at home.

“Currently, only one third of the UK’s 468 councils provide weekly food waste collections, and where it is undertaken recycling rates in excess of 60% have been achieved.

“The food waste strategy selected entirely depends on what the council is seeking to achieve. What is important is that local authorities now consider the best systems and food waste strategies available.

“This decade is the time to take action and give people the tools to reduce food waste to ensure all aspects of recycling, including food, become a British way of life.”