Hackney recycling more food waste than ever before
Thanks to the 10,000 residents that ordered a food waste caddy over the past two years, Hackney is now recycling more than it ever has before.
For this years Recycle Week, which takes places between 24-30 September, Hackney Council wants even more people to reduce and recycle their food waste, which will help lower the borough’s impact on the environment and help households save money.
According to Recycle for London, households in the capital throw away one bag of food shopping for every 5 bought, which means around £840 per family goes in the bin each year. As well as being bad for the bank balance, all this waste generates 19 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Residents in Hackney can recycle any cooked or uncooked food, vegetable and fruit peelings, tea bags, bones, egg shells and plate scrapings in their blue bin. No amount of food waste is too small, the more that can be recycled, the better. All this food then gets turned into compost which is used for agriculture and it also generates renewable energy.
As well as recycling unwanted food in a blue bin, residents can also make other changes to their daily routine to reduce food waste, such as freezing bread. It’s no loafing matter that 2.6 million slices of bread are thrown away every day from London households.
Most people now recycle household items such as bottles and cans, but we need more people to realise that recycling your food waste is important too. As well as helping the environment by reducing emissions and returning nutrients to the soil, recycling food waste is also much cheaper for the Council. The money saved can be used for other public services, such as playgrounds or transport.
Find out more about reducing your food waste, or order yourself a blue bin by visiting www.hackney.gov.uk/food-waste.
Find out more about how you can recycle and re-use more by visiting CLR James Dalston Library on Monday 24 September between 6-7.30pm. Speak to recycling officers about where your recycling goes, pick up recycling bags and learn some waste reduction tips. Fill out a short booking form to reserve your place, sign-up here.