Written by recycle
Food waste that's is thrown away doesn't break down harmlessly like you might think. If food waste ends up in landfill, it rots and releases methane, a greenhouse gas which is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide - this is bad news for the environment.
When we recycle our food waste, we can avoid needlessly pumping tonnes of methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and create something useful instead. Food waste is never actually waste as it can be sent to special processing plants to be transformed into electricity, or turned into compost which farmers can use as fertiliser. To find out more about how these processes work, watch these films:
Anaerobic Digestion
In-vessel Composting
- Recycling just ONE banana peel, could generate enough energy to fully charge a smartphone twice
- The peelings from just SIX potatoes could be turned into enough compost to grow a brand new potato
You can recycle:
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Coffee grounds
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Egg shells
- Fish and meat bones
- Mouldy and gone off food
- Fruit and veg peelings
To help you, here are some top tips for recycling food waste:
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You can use any container as a food waste caddy in your kitchen, so long as you put your food waste into your council-provided container outside your house
- Line the bottom of your caddy with some newspaper or kitchen roll to help keep it clean and dry
- Use lemon or essential oils to keep your caddy smelling fresh
The following London boroughs collect food waste. Click on the links to find out more: