Why Should I Compost Food Waste?

An estimated 7.2 million tonnes of food waste is collected by UK Local Authorities and sent to landfill. This is approximately 150-250 Kg per household per year (WRAP, 2011).

Around 7m UK homes already home compost, but they only compost about 35% of their total food waste. Typically adding vegetable peelings and tea bags, but not plate scrapping, meat, fish, cooked food, rice, pasta, leftover bread, cakes, etc. The main reason people are put off composting food waste at home is smell, mess and potential vermin (Defra funded, Brook-Lyndhurst 2008).

Home composting all food waste has environmental benefits as it reduces fuel used to collect and transport waste to landfill, prevents methane (a potent greenhouse gas) release in landfill and reduces the number of new industrial composting/anaerobic digestion plants required in the UK.

 

Are You Aware?

If you start composting at home, in 365 days you will have off set global warming gases equal to all the carbon dioxide your kettle produces in a year, or your dish washer produces in three months?