RECYCLING
What happens to my food waste?
HEAT AND
ELECTRICITY
BIOGAS
FOOD WASTE
ANAEROBIC
DIGESTION
SOIL FERTILISER
‘caddy’ bin in your kitchen (see the
information box on this page).
The black rubbish wheelie bins are
collected every other week, but the
green food waste bin is emptied every
week, meaning that using the food
waste collection service is the smart
way to prevent smelly bins, especially
in the summer.
‘IT FEELS NATURAL NOW’
Leah Grey lives in Greenford with her
family and uses the council’s weekly
food waste service.
Leah said: “Everything is recycled at
my house: The glass, plastics, cardboard
and the food. We’ve always recycled.
For us, it’s about sustainability and
protecting the environment. My mum
says: ‘You won’t have a planet for your
children to live on if you don’t recycle.’
“The food waste is a big one at my
house, every week without fail. I found
the food a bit disgusting at first and used
to get in a lot of trouble from my mum
for scraping the plates into the rubbish
bin, but I’m used to it now. I can see why
people find it a bit strange to begin with,
but once you start doing it, it actually
feels disgusting to put old food into the
rubbish bin. It feels natural now.”
Read more of Leah’s story at
ealingnewsextra.co.uk/features
THE CLEVER BIT
All of the food waste that Ealing Council
collects is taken to a special processing
plant – where it gets converted into
electricity, and also fertiliser for farms.
At the plant, all of the food waste
is placed in a giant, sealed, air-tight
tank to break down in a controlled way.
This produces gas which is siphoned
off and used to make electricity that
gets pushed into the national grid to
heat and light homes. What is left is
pasteurised to kill any bugs then used
as agricultural fertiliser to improve soil.
None of it goes to waste. Food
is perhaps more powerful than you
thought?
As easy as 1,2,3…
As we said earlier, it is simple to
recycle food.
1
Just keep a small food caddy
in the kitchen (any small plastic
container with a lid will do) and line
it with newspaper or compostable
liners. These are widely available in
supermarkets and shops
2
Keep the green food waste
bin outside; and when the
kitchen caddy is full, take it out
and pop the liner/food waste in
the green bin – making sure you
pull the handle down on the bin
to lock it shut
3
Give your caddy a quick rinse
and line it again for the next
load of food waste.
If you do not have a green food
waste bin, you can order one by
going to www.ealing.gov.uk/bins
or calling 020 8825 6000.
around ealing
Summer 2016
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