We’re going to tuck into a particularly unpleasant recycling contaminant this week: Food waste.
Joints of meat, loaves of bread, veggie peelings – you name it, we’ve seen it put in with kerbside recycling. Unlike other contaminants that can sometimes be spotted on the sorting conveyor at the Material Recycling Facility before they cause too much damage, food waste is a different story.
By the time your leftovers have churned through the bin lorry, emptied at the plant and traveled up to the conveyor, it’s too late – mushed food has coated everything it’s come into contact with, rendering it all contaminated.
Even if you place the items in a bag first, the plastic tends to split open due to the pressure in the bin lorries, plastering otherwise good recycling materials in last week’s meals.
We don’t currently offer food recycling, but there are a few other options for your dinner debris:
- Compost ― Egg shells, veggie peelings, fruit, tea bags and coffee grounds are just some of the items you can use to make a home compost. A compost cuts down on garden and food waste and reduces your impact on the environment. Your garden plants will thank you too! To find out how to get started visit: www.recyclenow.com/reduce-waste/composting
- Cook ― If you’ve got leftovers that are still in date, look up some recipes! Websites like Love Food Hate Waste have a range of recipes to encourage using up everything in your fridge. It also has suggestions for storing food to ensure you get the longest life from your products.
- Bin it ― place all food waste in your main bin to be thrown away with your general waste collection.
For more information on what items go in which bin, check out our handy webpage - www.plymouth.gov.uk/binsrecyclingandwaste/whatgoeseachbin