Food waste in residual bins costs Surrey £4m

Recycling the 50,594 tonnes of food waste instead would save Surrey councils £4 million each year, the SEP says.

The SEP has launched a campaign to encourages resident to reduce and recycle their food waste “to help the environment”.

This includes urging residents to use an app to help plan shopping and meals, freeze food nearing its use by date, and try out new recipes to use up any leftovers.

Councillor Neil Dallen, chairman of the SEP, said: “In order to save as much money as possible for essential services and to help protect the environment, we should be recycling as much food waste as we can.

“I’d encourage anyone who doesn’t recycle food waste to start now and for those who do, make sure that you’re putting as much as you can in your caddy.”

Food waste

In 2019/20, 38,853 tonnes of food waste was collected across Surrey.

The SEP operates a free weekly food waste collection and Surrey residents can order a food waste caddy by contacting their local council.

The 11 district and borough councils in Surrey are waste collection authorities and so responsible for the collection of the county’s food waste.

Some councils have contracts with external waste collection companies while some manage their waste services in-house.

Food waste collections were rolled out over a couple of years in Surrey, but by 2012 all the councils were collecting it.

Food waste is taken to an anaerobic digestion facility at the Eco Park in Shepperton, where it is broken down to produce biogas.

Waste management company Suez is developing the Eco Park to manage waste from Surrey households as part of its 25-year contract with the county council, which was originally signed in 1999 and expires in 2024.

Surrey

The SEP is made up of Surrey county council and the region’s 11 district and borough councils.

Representing an estimated population of nearly 1.2 million, Surrey county council had a household waste recycling rate of 55.1% In the 2020/21 financial year.

National Food Waste Conference
The National Food Waste Conference will bring together key sectors – be it food waste processors, food waste producers, waste management companies, local authorities or charities – to discuss the opportunities and challenges that food waste presents.

With ample time to network and to raise issues with speakers during the day, this is a not-to-miss event for anyone wanting to be part of the food waste solution.

Tickets available in February 2022, so save the date in your diary, or reach out for sponsorship opportunities (now available). Visit here for more details.