What Really Happens to Your Recycled Food Waste?

Every time you throw food in the bin, the wasted food could have been used to heat someone’s home. It is not always obvious that a banana peel can be used again. Councils encourage recycling by providing food waste caddies. Once full, the caddy contents can be emptied into an outside food waste bin. The UK creates around 16 million tonnes of food and drink waste annually. This comes from areas such as manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and around half of this figure is from our own kitchens.

Why recycle food waste?

Many people do not realise the benefits of recycling food waste. When you put food in the bin, it ends up in a landfill, where it breaks down and releases harmful greenhouse gases.

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

What is allowed in a food waste bin?

Food recycling is simpler than most people think. Common foods you can put in the food recycling bin include:

• fresh food such as fruit and vegetables, dairy products, bread, pastries and grains,
• cooked food like meat, fish, rice, pasta and beans,
• scraps, for example, used coffee grounds, tea leaves, and peelings.

You can put these items in a caddy liner to prevent smells and mess. Avoid contamination by keeping out packaging, plastic film, non-compostable plastic bags, and pet or garden waste, as small amounts can ruin an entire batch.

What happens to food waste collected by councils?

Once collected, the food waste is transported to an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant. Inside a sealed container, microbes break down the food waste. The results are biogas and digestate (a nutrient-rich fertiliser).

• Biogas can provide heat and energy for households and businesses,
• Digestate can improve soil quality on agricultural land.

As a result, around 201,000 tonnes of food waste could power 38,500 homes across the UK. Therefore, your discarded food can be transformed into energy and fertiliser.

Food waste can become sustainable energy

Recycling food waste is a simple way to reduce environmental impact. It helps to cut emissions, reduces landfill, enhances soil quality, reduces the reliance on chemical fertilisers, and helps to generate renewable energy.

Small changes can make a big difference. By separating your food waste, you help support a sustainable future.

Check your local council guidelines and start recycling your food waste today.