Recycle your food waste into something useful

Wales is the third best country in the world for recycling, but Recycle for Wales believe that we could soon be number one by making everyone more aware of all of the items we can recycle.

To help achieve their target, Recycle for Wales are joining forces with Bridgend County Borough Council this Recycle Week (24 – 30 September) to promote the importance of food recycling.

Last year, local residents recycled enough food waste to power a typical school for over four years, or to power Porthcawl’s Grand Pavilion for 11.5 years!

So, most local people are avid food recyclers, but there’s still room to do better.

On average, 18 per cent of rubbish found in a typical Bridgend County Borough bin is food waste which could have been recycled into something useful instead.

All of the food waste collected from local households is taken to the Agrivert anaerobic digestion plant in Stormy Down where it is transformed into electricity to power our homes and local communities.

It also produces a fertiliser which can be used in farming. On the other hand, if food waste ends up in landfill then it rots down and produces methane, a damaging greenhouse gas.

Councillor Hywel Williams, the Deputy Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council

"As well as food leftovers, we all produce a certain amount of unavoidable food waste that can’t be eaten, but can be recycled, such as tea bags, fruit and veg peelings, egg shells, and meat bones,“ Councillor Williams added.

"All of those can be put into your brown food waste recycling caddies, as can pet food. Don’t forget to delve into the back of your fridge to pick out any out of date food you find as this can also be recycled – just remove any packaging first and recycle that too.”

Catrin Palfrey, from Recycle for Wales said: “We know that most people in Bridgend County Borough are recycling their food, which is great, but there is clearly still a lot more we can do. Every single thing we recycle can make a big difference to how much renewable energy we can create to power homes and communities in the county, while helping Wales become the best recycling nation in the world.”

It’s simple to recycle your food waste in Bridgend County Borough. Use one of the green bags to line your small brown kitchen caddy and put your food waste in it. When it’s full, tie the bag up and put it in your bigger food recycling caddy outside ready for your weekly collection. Remember that the outside caddy comes with a lockable handle to keep out smells and pests.

Councillor Williams added: “While the environmental benefits of recycling are fantastic, there’s another really simple benefit of using the food caddies… if you don’t put food waste in your bin bags then they won’t be smelly and there’ll be less chance of seagulls or other animals tearing them apart.”

Any residents who don’t already have food recycling caddies can request them online, or by calling 01656 643643, or emailing recyclingandwaste@bridgend.gov.uk

For more information about food recycling, visit the Recycle for Wales website.

Some more food recycling stats

• Over 70 per cent of people in Wales now say that they are recycling their food waste.
• Recycling one caddy of food waste would power a typical home for over an hour.
• If everyone in Bridgend County Borough recycled one banana peel it would generate enough energy to power Porthcawl Grand Pavilion for nearly four days.
• Recycling six tea bags generates enough energy to boil a kettle to make another cuppa!
• Last year, the Agrivert anaerobic digestion plant in Stormy Down recycled enough food waste to power approximately 6,000 homes for the whole year.
• If everyone in Bridgend County Borough recycled one apple core it could power Maesteg Sports Centre for over 25 hours.

Find out more about recycling in Bridgend County Borough at the Recycle for Bridgend website.