Mid Ulster families could save £1,000 a year by reducing food waste

Recycle Now and Mid Ulster District Council are encouraging residents to reduce their food waste to help households save up to £1,000 a year!

By using all the food they buy and recycling anything inedible like eggshells, banana skins and tea bags, an average household of four in Mid Ulster could save £80 per month or a staggering £1,000 year.

In Northern Ireland 80% of people recycle their food waste, but there is room for improvement. Latest estimates show that a third (30%) of the average rubbish bin is still made up of food, most of which could have been eaten (23%).

The best thing to do with your food is eat it. Items such as bananas, chicken, bread and potatoes are amongst the most wasted items. By throwing these away we are not only wasting money we are also damaging the planet.

Think about cooking up some quick-fire easy recipes using these most wasted items. A banana smoothie or chicken fajitas? Love Food Hate Waste has lots of inspiration for making the most of the food you buy.

For inedible items, make your food waste caddy your go-to bin. Even small amounts, like vegetable stalks, banana peels, onion skins, eggshells, chicken bones and coffee grounds, can be recycled.

Food waste from Mid Ulster households is collected together with your garden waste in the same outdoor brown bin. From there, it gets broken down and processed into compost.

Chair of the Environment Committee, Councillor Clement Cuthbertson, is encouraging everyone across Mid Ulster to reduce their food waste and utilise their caddy and brown bin for the items that have to be disposed of: “With the current cost of living crisis and the ever increasing costs associated with food shopping, many of us will have become more conscious about trying to reduce the amount of food waste from our homes.

“Simple tips like planning meals in advance and writing a shopping list and sticking to it can help to make sure we only buy what we need and are able to use, subsequently reducing any potential food waste.

“Of course, there are certain elements of food waste that we can’t avoid like banana skins, eggshells and vegetable peelings to name just a few. We want to remind our residents that all food waste should be disposed of in household brown bins. Using your kitchen caddy with a caddy liner can make the process cleaner and easier to transfer food waste from your caddy to your brown bin.

“No plastic bags or alternatives should be used as a liner. They need to be compostable to ensure that they break down fully during the composting process. Kitchen caddies are available to collect and compostable caddy liners can be purchased for only £1 a roll from Mid Ulster recycling centres during normal opening hours.”

Craig Stephens, Senior Campaign Manager, Recycle Now, added: “The importance of this campaign is getting as many people as possible within Mid Ulster to first use the food they buy and then utilise their food caddy and stop putting food waste in the general rubbish bin.

“The resources that go into producing our food - the water; the transportation and the energy to chill foods from farm to factory and into our kitchens are also wasted when we throw food away. We need to raise awareness of the cost to households and the environment of needlessly putting food in the rubbish bin. By using all the food we buy and recycling the inedible parts, you can save money and create compost and green energy instead”.

Recycling doesn’t have to be confusing. To find out more visit www.recyclenow.com/recycle-your-food-waste or for a full list of the items accepted in your brown bin visit: www.midulstercouncil.org/brownbin.