A recent analysis of black bin waste across the county showed that many households are still putting food waste in their black bin.
Instead, residents are being encouraged to use their food waste containers to put this waste in, so it can be collected weekly, alongside other waste and recycling services. It is then processed at an anaerobic digestion facility in Devon. The material is broken down in a series of sealed tanks to produce methane, a gas used to generate electricity, and digestate, a nutrient rich fertiliser used by local farmers.
In areas with authority-wide food waste collections, if every household made use of their food waste container it would not only help to create energy and fertiliser but would also save more than £ 2.8 million on disposal costs. Keeping food waste out of the black bin also helps to save space in the bin for non-recyclable waste and prevent odours and pests especially during the warmer summer months.
Any bag can be used to line your food waste container including reusing bags such as bread or cereal bags. This helps to keep the caddy clean and makes it easy to transfer the waste from an indoor container to the kerbside container.
A range of items can be put in the food waste container:
Residents in areas with food waste collections are encouraged to pledge one or two simple actions they can take – and be in with a chance of winning one of five blenders. Closing date is midnight on 26th November.
Not all areas of Devon have food waste collections, but if this is a service in your community, then the council can help by sharing this message with their residents.
