One of the environmental issues that goes largely overlooked is the recycling of food waste. Food waste contamination in landfills has become one of the biggest problems, as it can potentially be one of the most disastrous contributors to global warming. Most people think that food waste is harmless, as it will eventually biodegrade, but what many are not aware of is that once food waste does break down it can release harmful gases into landfills, which eventually link into the air. When organic compounds break down they release methane which is significantly more harmful to the environment than carbon. One local authority is doing its part to keep food waste from entering its landfills with a new scheme.
Residents within the Cherwell District have kept more than fifty seven tonnes of food waste from landfills thanks to a scheme created by the local council. The Council recently revealed that since they have implemented their food waste recycling scheme, collection of waste that cannot be recycled has diminished dramatically. At the beginning of the scheme more than eleven thousand homes in the north of the district are able to recycle their food waste. This is just the beginning as an additional forty seven thousand homes are due to join the scheme in the coming months.
At current rates around twelve thousand tonnes of food waste goes into Cherwell’s landfills. The scheme involves giving residents a small caddy in which to place their food waste. Food can then be transferred to the bin used for garden waste, which will lead to food waste being composted, which is much better than ending up in a landfill.
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