Join the food waste revolution in Somerset
Together with our recycling and rubbish collections contractor, SUEZ we are encouraging everyone to recycle their food waste
Why recycling food waste matters
Together with our recycling and rubbish collections contractor, SUEZ recycling and recovery UK we are encouraging everyone to recycle their food waste. Let’s see how we can make a difference together. In Somerset we threw out 40,000 tonnes of food waste last year and only 21,000 tonnes of it was recycled.
Why recycle?
Did you know that 21% of the average Somerset family’s rubbish bin by weight is food waste? Food waste recycling is not only environmentally beneficial, but it is also cheaper for us to process.
- Using the specially designed kitchen caddy can reduce smells, and it gets taken away more often.
- Food waste get turned into something useful. It is used to generate electricity and fertiliser for farms.
- Just one kitchen caddy of food waste can power a light bulb for more than 24 hours!
You might think you are a recycler, but…
This campaign is for everyone, you might think you are a recycler, but did you know that the average household in Somerset still throws away 56 kg of food every year. That’s the weight of a young teenager!
Congratulations to our young writers
Congratulations to our young writers. We’re thrilled to share the winners of our very first Food Waste Story Writing Competition.
Our talented winners are Candice from Taunton, who wrote ‘The Food Waste Story’, and Freya from Street, author of ‘A Rubbish Day’. Each of them will receive book vouchers and a copy of Ben Pulletz’s book, Luna Explores Somerset. The judges were impressed with their humour and their grasp of the importance of food waste recycling.
In addition to our winners, we have some fantastic runners-up:
- Harry and Olivia (co-authors) from Burnham on Sea
- Veet from Wellington
- Evlyn from Frome
- Sonny from Minehead.
Congratulations to all.
What is food waste and what happens to it?
Food waste includes both avoidable and unavoidable waste. Unavoidable waste includes the things that we would not normally eat like, peel, cores, eggshells and bones. Avoidable waste are things that could have been saved and eaten, such as plate scrapings, food thrown out in packaging and gone-off food.
Food that is collected from our food waste bins is sent to an anaerobic digestion facility near Bridgwater. Anaerobic digestion (AD) uses micro-organisms to break down food waste in the absence of oxygen, inside an enclosed system. The methane given off during this process is collected and converted to biogas and used to generate electricity, heat or transport fuels. It also creates nutrient-rich digestate used for fertiliser for agriculture.
Anaerobic digestion is not the same process as commercial composting, which is why compostable packaging is not accepted in your food waste collection.
How we recycle food waste
Meet our food waste recycling warriors!
Say hello to Benny the Bread, Patty the Potato, Nana the Banana, Charlie the Cheese, and Carrie the Carrot!
These fun and friendly characters are here to remind us all about the importance of recycling food waste. Look out for them in our social media posts, events, and libraries.
Benny the Bread
Benny says: Food recycling easy. In fact, it is right on your doorstep and does not take much time or effort.
Patty the Potato
Patty says: Just one kitchen caddy of food waste generates enough electricity to power a light bulb for more than 24 hours.
Nana the Banana
Nana says: Just one recycled banana skin can produce enough energy to charge a mobile phone twice.
Charlie the Cheese
Charlie reminds us that recycling food waste isn’t stinky…actually, it’s cleaner. Recycling is collected weekly, other rubbish isn’t, and so it will be taken away sooner.
Carrie the Carrot
Carrie says: 7 out of 10 households in Somerset recycle their food waste kerbside.
Tommy the tomato
Tommy says: Empty out of date food into the food waste recycling bin and put the packaging in the correct container.