Published Tuesday 26 July 2022 at 14:48
New research shows that Blackburn with Darwen is facing a waste crisis, with almost half of each households burgundy waste bin being eaten up by food.
A recent waste analysis has revealed that 44% of our borough’s burgundy bins are filled with food waste – and half of this is still edible.
Shockingly, on top of that, Blackburn with Darwen Council is having to spend around £750,000 of Council Tax on disposing of this edible waste alone!
It’s been revealed that the average family of four is throwing away a massive £700’s worth of food every single year.
Now, the Council is urging residents to take part in a new survey to help get to the bottom of the problem as part of a brand new campaign.
And, they’ve teamed up with their waste partner, SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, to offer residents a chance to win £700 for filling it in.
Councillor Jim Smith, Executive Member for Environment, said:
Our new research shows that shockingly, half of the waste in our burgundy bins is food – and half of that is still classed as edible and within the sell by date.
On average, a family of four is throwing out a third of what they buy each week at the supermarket. It amounts to around £60 a month – more than £700 a year which is such a lot of money!
With the cost of living soaring and food prices on the rise, that’s going up and up and of course, there’s a huge cost to our planet too with food waste being a significant contributor to climate change.
The council, which declared a Climate Emergency in 2019, wants to help residents reduce the amount of food they’re wasting and the new survey looks at how they shop, store their food and more.
The results will be used as part of a new campaign across the borough.
Councillor Smith added:
We really want to highlight the issue and make people aware that they are literally throwing good money in the bin every single day.
We want residents to think about the food they are buying, how they’re storing it and things like portion sizes. Of course, there can be a health benefit to all of this too – it really is win, win.
The survey will help us better understand the reasons behind the substantial food waste – it certainly got me thinking about the small changes I can be making.
I do hope residents will take a few minutes to fill it in.
Those who complete the survey can opt to be entered in to the free prize draw to win £700 – the same amount that is wasted each year by the average family of four.
You can enter the survey on the Council’s Recyclebwd.org website, which has a new food waste section as well as helpful guides to what goes in each of the bins and handy tips on recycling.
There’s also a QR code to scan in the new waste and recycling calendars which are currently being delivered across the borough.
Victoria Crabtree, Regional Manager, SUEZ recycling and recovery UK said:
We want to encourage every resident in the borough to reduce the amount of food waste they produce as, not only is it damaging to the environment, but it is also such a waste of their hard-earned money. We were therefore very keen to support the council with their campaign.
By offering a cash prize as an incentive to complete the survey, we hope to make people realise just how much they could save and that by making small changes to their shopping and eating habits they can make a big difference.
The deadline to take part in the survey and enter the free prize draw is Friday, September 23rd.