Waste and Recycling
Food waste
Why?
A third of the food prepared does not make it from farm to fork. Producing uneaten food squanders a whole host of resources—seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labour, money – and generates greenhouse gases at every stage. The food we waste is responsible for roughly 8 percent of global emissions.
How?
- Don’t over buy by planning your meals in advance.
- As tempting as it may be, try not to make use of ‘buy one, get one free’ offers if you know you’ll struggle to use it before it goes off.
- Be aware of use by dates when you purchase fresh food,
- Freeze any leftovers.
- For more ideas, check out the Recycle Devon Love Food, Hate Waste website.
Recycling
Why?
To produce new products from recovered materials requires fewer raw resources and less energy than making them from virgin materials. Using recycled aluminium products, for example, uses 95 percent less energy than creating them from virgin materials.That’s how recycling household and commercial waste can cut greenhouse gas emissions.
How?
Utilise your kerbside recycling facilities – find out when your collection is and what materials you can recycle. and check out www.recycledevon.org for more hints and tips.
Composting
Why?
The majority of food waste collected in Devon is sent for anaerobic digestion where it is converted into electricity and a fertilizer by-product. Some local authorities will also collect garden waste which is taken for commercial composting. But uncooked food waste, such as fruit and vegetable peelings, tea bags and coffee grounds etc. and garden waste can be composted at home. The composting process converts organic material into stable soil carbon and maintains the nutrients of the original waste. The result is carbon storage as well as production of a valuable fertilizer.
Composting also reduces the fuel required to transport the food and garden waste from your home to the processing facilities and so avoids additional carbon emissions.
How?
Check out the Recycle Devon guide on how to set up a compost bin or wormy (a great alternative to a compost bin for those for those without a large garden or lots of garden waste).
You can purchase a cut-price compost bin to get you on your way!
