Oxfordshire’s libraries giving away free food waste caddy bags for Christmas
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 county’s libraries during December, while stocks last.
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 recycled over 25,000 tonnes of food waste last year – it estimates that a similar amount is thrown away with non-recyclable waste.
If all the food waste that is thrown away was recycled, it would save Oxfordshire County Council an estimated £3 million a year.
Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: “No one wants to waste food. But where that’s not possible and for inedible food waste, such as potato peelings and turkey bones, home composting or recycling it using the kerbside collection really help to reduce the impact of waste disposal on the climate.
“That’s why we are giving Oxfordshire residents caddy liners again to make it easier for them at a time when 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.”
Non-recyclable waste 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.
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