Posted on: Wednesday 25 October 2023
Wales, we're crackin' at recycling and take pride in doing our bit, so much so that we're the 3rd best recycling nation in the world. But we can always do better, right?
Most of us know that food waste should go in its own caddy, but a quarter of the average bin is still made up of food. This adds up to an enormous 110,000 tonnes a year, which is enough to fill 3,300 double decker buses! Astonishingly, over 80% of this could have been eaten (with the other 20% being inedible parts such as eggshells and banana peels).
This is why the council is backing Wales Recycles' 'Be Mighty. Recycle' campaign to stop feeding our rubbish bins, save money and create cleaner greener energy instead.
The real price of food waste
75% of people are worried about escalating food prices, which have risen at a record rate. We can't afford to keep chucking our hard-earned cash in the bin.
We’ve all accidently made mistakes – such as forgetting about that remaining piece of broccoli at the back of the fridge, but the precious resources that go into producing our food, from the farm to the factory and on to the supermarket shelves, are also wasted. We're literally throwing our money in the bin.
Let’s turn food waste into energy
Recycling our inedible food waste is the simplest thing we can all do to help tackle climate change. Why? Because it’s transformed into renewable energy!
Almost every local authority in Wales recycles food waste into cleaner, greener energy to power our homes. In 2022, we recycled enough to power over 10,000 homes, and just one caddy full of food waste could create enough energy to power a household for 1 hour. But we can always do better.
Follow Wales Recycles’ tips to Be Mighty with your food waste by keeping it out of the rubbish bin.
1. Plan ahead and eat everything that’s edible
Tweaking our routines helps us save a lot of money, and our valuable time! Check your cupboards and fridge before writing your shopping list, and plan to buy the right amount for what you need (as opposed to more than you can use before it spoils). When you get home, make sure you store your food in the best place to make it stay fresher for longer. Try to keep track of what you’ve got, and use up any food that is nearing the end of its life. There are plenty of simple recipes that let you be flexible with ingredients. Think frittatas, soups, curries, pancakes, and even fritters!
2. If you can’t eat it. Recycle it.
The inedibles, we’re talking about the bits we don’t typically eat, that’s teabags and banana skins to bones and eggshells. Even mouldy food – no matter how yucky – goes in the food waste caddy for recycling. Remember, food waste equals energy. Recycling one pumpkin skin could power a TV long enough to watch Halloween favourites like Hocus Pocus and the Addams Family back-to-back.
3. Avoid ‘ych a fi’
We know the potential smells, leaks and spills associated with the caddy can put you off. However, recycling our food waste creates fewer smells and is more hygienic than putting it in the bin. The trick is to keep your caddy clean & fresh by emptying it regularly, using a liner and avoiding liquids. It’s easy to Be Mighty!
4. If you’re not already, join the 80% of us using a weekly food waste collection service.
Wales is one of the only countries in the world where every household has access to a weekly food waste collection service. Almost 80% of us are using it. Let’s get that figure to 100%. Visit your council’s website to order a caddy.
To discover more tips, how your food waste creates power and how to get started visit Wales Recycles or join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #BeMightyRecycle.
Find out more about how to recycle in Torfaen