Caddy campaign hopes to reduce Oxfordshire’s waste line

Oxfordshire foodies are being urged to do their bit to make sure food waste doesn’t end up on the scrap heap.

At the moment it is thought that around 30% of the county’s food waste is binned – a figure the county, city and district councils hope to slim down significantly.  

To do this Oxfordshire's councils have launched a campaign with Agrivert, the company who process our food waste, to encourage residents to recycle more of the food they would otherwise throw away.

It is two and a half times cheaper to process food waste if it is put into a food waste caddy for recycling or composting than if the same waste is put in the general rubbish bin.

Startling benefits

In 2015/16 in Oxfordshire almost 15,000 tonnes of separately collected food waste and 23,000 tonnes of mixed food and green waste were collected and sent to Agrivert for recycling or composting.

County Councillor David Nimmo Smith, Cabinet member for Environment, said: “It is as easy to recycle food waste as it is to throw it in the main rubbish bin – but the benefits of recycling can be quite startling.

“Food waste collected for recycling is treated at Agrivert’s anaerobic digestion plants in Oxfordshire, and used to generate enough electricity for over 9,000 homes, as well as making fertiliser for use on local farms.

“An average family with children spends £680 every year on food that ends up in the bin. Nearly half of what is thrown away is fresh fruit and vegetables. Bread, dairy produce, rice and pasta also make the top five on the most wasted food list, all of which can be recycled in the food waste caddy.

“The first thing to do is look at how you can reduce waste. Then make sure that anything that has to be thrown away gets put in the right bin.”

There’s lots of advice on how to reduce your food waste and information on how it is recycled in your area on www.recycleforoxfordshire.org.uk/lovefoodhatewaste