The Growing Importance of Food Recycling

The Growing Importance of Food Recycling

With the UK and world population, growing minute by minute, day by day, the amount of stomachs that needs filling is growing too, which means a lot more food floating around the nation then ever before.

Now, with all this food being passed around and devoured, you would think that the UK would have their food recycling program running efficiently, smoothly and like a well-oiled machine right? 

Unfortunately, wrong! 

Food recycling, especially in the UK is not at the levels of which it should be. Restaurants, Cafes, Takeaways and Homes are throwing away more food waste then ever, so our food recycling needs to follow suit! 

This is not to say that UK food recycling hasn't improved and more businesses & homeowners are getting on-board, however there is always room for improvement.

With food waste growing every year, it is more important than ever. 

In this blog, we will be covering the growing importance of food recycling within the UK, the environmental impact that this can have & how best to reduce food waste. 

Get your compost out!

2. The Environmental Impact of Food Waste

Food waste and environmental problems:

Landfill waste: On every blog you will hear us call out landfills, and here we go again! Food waste is a major factor on landfill volume. It is estimated that around 30& of landfill waste is made up of food waste. 

Greenhouse gas emissions: Food that is left to decompose on landfills produce methane gases which contributes to the ever growing climate change. 

Natural resource depletion: Due to the growing, transporting and processing of food. This requires a lot of waste, energy and land resources, which are wasted when food is chucked away. 

Water contamination: Food waste can leak harmful chemicals into local waste which can affect human health and ecosystems. 

How recycling food waste reduces environmental harm:

Methane reduction: Just like how it is produced in landfills, if food recycling takes the food out of landfills, then it reduces these gases being produced. 

Nutrient recovery: If we compost food waste, it returns nutrients to the soil. Not only does it help your soil become rich but reduces the need for chemical fertilisers. 

Resource conservation: Recycling food helps to prevent the waste of valuable resources such as water and soil. 

Biodiversity protection: By reducing the demand for new food production, food recycling helps preserve natural habitats and biodiversity.

3. How Food Recycling Reduces Landfill Waste

Yes, we are consistent with it....here we are again dogging them out.

Those dreadful landfills, but, it isn't all the landfills fault...Is it our fault for not recycling food as well as we should? Or, is it the councils fault for not recycling the food waste correctly? 

Well, the answer is...all of us are to blame, but...this doesn't mean that we can't do something about it!

Here is how recycling your food waste can reduce waste:

Direct benefits of food recycling:

Reduction of landfill waste: Reducing landfill waste is crucial if we ever want to the environment to grow and stay healthy. By recycling our food waste, you are diverting it away from landfills and reducing the amount of waste sent to your local landfills.

Composting: This is a superb way of reducing your food waste & creating nutrient rich compost that can keep your soil healthy and get your homegrown veg growing like a champ!

Food recovery programs: If you own a business and have unsellable but edible food...why not donate this to a food bank or charity? There are also some great apps out there like: Too Good To Go, where people can purchase your leftover bags for a discount. 

Extended lifespan of landfills: With less food waste to dispose of, landfills can operate more sustainably. 

4. New UK Legislation on Food Waste: What You Need to Know

You may not know this, but like anything that the government can control, new legislation's & ways of working are regularly introduced to ensure that new waste requirements are being followed. 

Here are some of the most recent:

Recent UK food waste laws:

• Environment Act 2021: The new environment act was introduced in 2021. This was to ensure that new food waste prevention methods, recycling, reporting and local authorities take responsibility for reducing food waste. 
• Mandatory food waste collections: More focus has been set on homeowners and businesses to separate their food waste for collection, to help reduce food waste in landfills.
• Food Waste Reduction Road-map: Businesses are asked to join onto the voluntary initiative so that it is easier to track and reduce food waste, by setting targets. This is backed by the UK Government. 

What it means for Businesses and Households:

• Environmental Incentives: Reducing food waste helps the environment recover and grow. Composting encourages nutrient rich soil, recycling your food reduces the waste sent to landfill, reduces your carbon footprint, helps fight global warming. There are endless environmental benefits to reducing your food waste. 
• Financial incentives: It isn't just the environmental benefits that businesses will see when reducing food waste...but it can help businesses to reduce their: Waste Costs & Disposal Costs. 

5. How to Start Recycling Food Waste at Home

1. Set up a compost bin:

• Start small: Pick out a small indoor bin that you don't use anymore to collect fruit, vegetable scraps, shells or coffee grounds. 
• Composting basics: Mix food scraps with paper or leaves to encourage proper decomposition.
• Indoor options: If you know that you don't really have any outdoor space, you could look to purchase a small indoor composting set up. 

2. Store food properly to reduce waste

• Plan meals ahead: This means, no impulse buys! Only really buy what you need to reduce the amount of waste that you chuck away. 
• Freeze leftovers: If you have any more sneaky portions of last nights tea going, freeze the extra portions to use on a different day. 

3. Donate excess food

• Help others: If you have food that you really don't use and definitely won't use, get it donated! Take a trip to your local food bank or use apps that help you give away what you don't need. 
• Avoid waste: There are plenty of food sharing platforms out there, so use them! Platforms like Too Good To Go or Olio allow you to offer food to your neighbours, helping to reduce waste in your neighbourhood but also, promote reducing waste in your community. 

4. Educate your household

• Get everyone involved: Champion your efforts with all your family members! Teach your fam about the importance of food recycling and show them, just how easy it is to compost. 
• Lead by Example: Your family won't get on-board if you don't! Lead by example with your organic composting or recycling efforts and show your family the beauty of reducing waste. 

Conclusion

Next time you are thinking about chucking away your food waste, picture yourself reading this blog again & remember what we taught you! 

Just like the Jedi's of the world, we can only give you the knowledge...it is up to you to change your life(style).

Don't feel forced to have to throw your food waste in the food bin, search around for the different options available. Any little bit that you do, helps to reduce the amount of waste being shipped off to landfills, which at the moment is more then a million tonnes. 

If you are still really struggling with your waste & feel that your council collections aren't regular enough, or don't trust your council enough to not send your waste to the landfill, then why not use us?

At Busy Bins, 0 and we mean 0, of the waste we collect is sent to landfills....all our waste is sent to a waste to energy facility, ensuring that you are being as environmentally friendly as possible! 

So, what are you waiting for you? 

You Click, We Collect!