Food waste has been a major issue over the last few weeks as prominent politicians tried to use the holidays as the opportune time to remind people about the dangers of food waste. Both Gordon Brown and Hilary Benn each spoke out about reducing waste over the holidays and then carrying those attitudes throughout the year. Not only does food waste account for a large percentage of the waste that is thrown into landfills it can do additional damage as it breaks down and releases methane, which is far more harmful to the environment than carbon. As more countries turn to waste as a valuable source of energy, further laws and bans are being placed on food waste, which is going to change the way that many Brits dispose of their uneaten food.
In the old days most houses had a slop bucket in which they would toss all of their unwanted food items which would later be recycled by a pen full of pigs. As farms disappeared so did the concept of the slop bucket, but now the UK government is saying that the slop bucket is going to make a comeback. The amount of food in landfills that is wasted equates to four million cars worth of carbon and costs families in the UK a staggering seven hundred pounds a year on average, making it one of the most expensive and harmful types of household waste.
MP’s are quickly putting together a plan which could be implemented in as little as two years. The plan would essentially ban all food items from landfills.
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