Oxfordshire residents can pick up free food waste caddy bags

Food waste caddy bags

Householders can pick up a free roll of food waste caddy liners to help deal with the extra food waste expected to be generated over the festive period.

The free liners are available from the following locations during December, while stocks last:

Customers who use the Home Library Service will be offered a roll of food caddy liners with their book delivery.

All households receive food waste recycling collections from their district council. Oxfordshire County Council arranges for the collected food waste to be recycled. Although most households already recycle their food waste – the council recycles nearly 25,000 tonnes of food waste annually – it estimates that a similar amount wrongly ends up in general waste.

If all of the food waste that is still thrown away in general rubbish bins was recycled, it would save Oxfordshire County Council more than £2 million a year.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate change and Environment, said: “The best thing people can do – especially during this cost of living crisis – is to minimise the amount of food that gets thrown away. Where that’s not possible, home composting or recycling food waste using the kerbside collection really help to reduce the impact of waste disposal on the climate.

“That’s why we are giving away these caddy liners to make it easier for residents at a time when we know that food waste is likely to increase significantly. Reducing the amount of food waste that ends up in general rubbish could save the council millions of pounds – money that would be better spent on other projects to improve people’s lives.”

General rubbish in Oxfordshire is burnt to generate energy, which already reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to landfill, but recycling food waste doubles the climate change benefit.

The recycling process generates green electricity and a fertiliser that is used on farmland across the county.

Residents are also being reminded that Oxfordshire’s seven household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs) will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day. They will be open on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve from 8am - 3pm. Details of where to find HWRCs is available at oxfordshire.gov.uk/recyclingcentres.

There are also tips on reducing waste and making savings over the festive period, from zero waste gift ideas to sustainable Christmas jumpers, on our Reducing waste with a green Christmas webpage, which also includes details of its #ReuseLikeScout colouring competition for under-16s. Entrants will be entered into a prize draw, with five winners receiving book tokens.

More information about how to reduce your food waste and recycle more this festive season – including links to the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, which contains money-saving tips, storage hints, and recipes to make the most of your leftovers – is available on the Oxfordshire Recycles’ Facebook and Twitter accounts.

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