It’s the tenth edition of the annual Stop Food Waste Day on Wednesday, April 29 – the largest single day of action in the fight against global food waste.
The day brings a welcome reminder of why it’s important to stop food from being needlessly wasted. Some facts about global food waste include:
- 33% of all food produced gets wasted every year
- Almost 50% of all fruits and vegetables produced gets wasted every year, which is equivalent to about 3.7 trillion apples
- If 25% of the food currently lost or wasted were saved, it would be enough to feed 870 million hungry people
Some handy ‘top tips’ to fight food waste have been put together, and here’s a quick run through them…
Top Tips
Plan ahead and don’t overbuy!
- Use up what’s in your fridge and pantry
- Plan your meals
- Make a list before you shop
The freezer is your friend!
- Batch cook and freeze portions
- Freeze bread and other leftovers
- Label items with the date and use them in order
Get creative!
- Experiment with what you have in the fridge
- Try making ‘bubble and squeak’ or colourful frittatas from leftovers
- Use odd bits of vegetables to make wholesome soups
Recycling food waste in Wrexham
Do you recycle food waste? If so, are you recycling everything you can?
In Wrexham, we estimate that under half of residents recycle their food waste and the rest is ending up in our rubbish bins. To play our part we need to do much better.
Cllr Terry Evans, Lead Member for Environment, said: “Unfortunately, in Wrexham we’re seeing far too much food waste, and lots of it isn’t being recycled by residents. We’re asking people to think about the small changes they can make to their daily habits. Making the most of the food you buy makes a big difference, and it can help to save you money as well as protect the environment.”
What goes in your food caddy?
If you want a quick catch up on the things you should be putting in your caddy, then you’ve come to the right place.
As well as everything you will already know about, take a look at this list some of the foods you mightn’t necessarily think of, such as:
• Out of date foods
• Bones and carcasses
• Egg shells
• Banana peelings (and other peelings)
• Apple cores
• Coffee granules
• Raw foods
• Mouldy foods
• Plate scrapings
• Uneaten ready meals
• Fast food (e.g. chips and pizzas)
• Shellfish
Things that we don’t want you to try and recycle as food waste are liquids (such as oil or milk), packaging, plastic bags, nappies or garden waste.
Learn to love your leftovers
Loving your leftovers means cooking smart and making food stretch further! Food waste makes up around a quarter of the average rubbish bin in Wales, and most of it could have been eaten.
Take a look at this blog which has some useful tips and recipes because (let’s face it) throwing good food in the bin simply doesn’t make sense.
Order new caddies easily online
We offer free replacement caddies, so if your home doesn’t have a kitchen or kerbside caddy, don’t sweat it – you just need to order a new one.
You can request a new food caddy easily on our website, where you can also order new recycling boxes if you need them.
Keep your caddy fresh
It’s easier than you think to keep your food caddy fresh. Try some of these things:
- Empty the liner more frequently in warmer weather
- Sprinkle some bicarbonate of soda in the bottom of the caddy
- Wipe up any drips straight away
- Keep the kitchen caddy out of direct sunlight
- Clean/disinfect the caddy regularly
- And very importantly, keep the lid closed
Make use of our free caddy liners
You can get our free caddy liners by simply tying an empty liner to your caddy handle on your collection day and the recycling crew will leave you a new roll.
Or, if you prefer, you can collect the free caddy liners (as well as replacement blue sacks) at a variety of locations in Wrexham, including a number of convenience stores, estate offices, libraries and recycling centres. Click here to see the extensive list.
For more info on recycling in Wrexham, please visit wrexham.gov.uk/recycling
How to renew your garden waste subscription – Wrexham Council News
When are my bins collected? Check your bin day and sign up for reminders
