Published: Thursday, 16th May 2024
More West Norfolk residents put their food caddies out for collection following the fourth national Food Waste Action Week that took place at the end of March.
Cllr Sandra Squire, Cabinet member for Environment and Coastal, said:
“Our staff were out across food waste action week encouraging residents to make use of the weekly kerbside collections. Free caddies and liners were distributed in Downham Market, Docking and King’s Lynn. We visited local schools and even the full council meeting. This effort has paid off with 20 tonnes more food waste collected over the month of April.
“Collecting food waste in caddies is the most environmentally friendly thing you can do with food waste other than reducing the amount of it in the first place. I urge residents to take make use of the weekly collections that happen with their waste or recycling collection.
“The average household creates between 2 and 3 kg of food waste every week. Across West Norfolk, in a year, it would be about 10,000 tonnes and I believe that we could recycle around 5000 tonnes of that.
“Using your kitchen caddy and putting your large grey food waste caddy out for collection with your waste or recycling collection each week reduces CO2, can create electricity to power our homes and creates nutrient rich biofertilizer used by farmers to grow crops.”
Barry Brandford, Waste and Recycling Manager at the borough council, said:
“We recycle 1800 tonnes of food waste in West Norfolk but pre-covid we were recycling over 3000 tonnes each year. We need your help to make sure that food waste doesn’t end up in the refuse bin. The increase we’ve had since we encouraged residents to use their caddy needs to be sustained. Please put your caddy out for collection every week with your waste or recycling collection.”
Residents who have lost or misplaced their kitchen caddy or large grey outdoor food waste caddy can ask a free replacement at west-norfolk.gov.uk/yourbins or call 0330 1099220.
Kitchen food waste caddies can be lined with old plastic carrier bags, bread bags, fruit and veg bags and other freezer/sandwich bags, or use these to put food waste in. This will keep their caddy and outside bin clean and hygienic - and also provide an additional use for single-use plastic bags.
We throw away 6.6 million tonnes of household food waste a year in the UK. This food waste is responsible for nearly 25 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, equivalent to 5.4% of the UK’s territorial emissions. The majority, 4.5 million tonnes is food that could have been eaten and is worth approximately £14 billion (or £60 a month an average family with two children). It requires an area almost the size of Wales to produce all the food and drink currently wasted in the UK.
Working together, we can prevent food being wasted needlessly and protect the planet.