RECYCLING
‘Pleased to do more’
“I was really pleased
with the introduction of
the food waste scheme,”
said Liv Thomsen of
Ealing after communal
food waste bins were
installed at blocks of
flats across the borough,
s.
including hers.
“T
he caddy
takes up
very little
room in
the kitchen and the
communal bin is
emptied regularly
,
so it doesn’t smell”,
said Liv. She and
w
her partner Andrew
braced
Sherwood have embraced
le
the chance to recycle more since
the bin was added in October.
She said: “I know it helps reduce the
effects of climate change, so we are
pleased we can do more. We try not
to waste food in the first place but we
can’t eat egg shells, banana skins and
tea bags and now we have somewhere
to put them.”
The bins have been installed since
March last year at blocks of flats which
already had communal recycling
facilities for materials including
cardboard, plastics, glass bottles and
jars, food and drink cans, and paper.
To help residents carry their raw and
Liv Thomsen using the bins
c
cooked food
w
waste back and
fort to the bins,
forth
they h
have also been
provided with a small
kitchen ‘caddy and a roll of
‘caddy’
biodegradable/compostable liners to
go inside.
The communal food bins are encased
in a robust, lidded metal container
to help stop the food from smelling.
Being able to recycle the food waste
from flats means it no longer has to rot
in the general waste collections and
sent to be dumped in landfill – where
it would generate the unpleasant
greenhouse gas, methane.
Now, all the food waste in the new
recycling bins can be sent to a company
called Biogen in Bedfordshire, along
with the rest of the borough’s collected
food waste. There, it is broken down
into a fertiliser for agricultural use –
while the process involved generates
energy that can be pumped straight
into the National Grid. This process is
called anaerobic digestion.
WHAT FOOD CAN I RECYCLE?
Leftover food waste can be recycled
including fish and meat bones, tea bags
and vegetable and fruit peelings. Food
waste can be wrapped in newspaper or
put in to a compostable/biodegradable
liner. Plastic bags cannot be used
because they contaminate the load.
Visit www.ealing.gov.uk/recycling for
more information.
around ealing
Spring 2015
13