Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) supports the third annual Food Waste Action Week.
Led by Love Food Hate Waste, the customer-facing brand of the UK’s leading sustainability charity WRAP, this year’s Food Waste Action Week is taking place from 6th – 12th March with the theme of ‘Win. Don’t bin.’
It will demonstrate how valuable food is in our lives and how using up everything we buy saves money and the planet. The week aims to increase residents’ confidence in ‘using up leftovers’ by promoting a range of skills that can be easily adopted but potentially have the greatest impact on reducing food waste in the home.
It’s never been more vital to make the most of our food. Prices of key cupboard staples have soared over the last year, including items such as butter, eggs and pasta, that’s why the GMCA is encouraging residents to only buy what they need, store food properly to make it last for longer and get creative in the kitchen to use up your leftovers.
According to WRAP, we throw away 6.6 million tonnes of household food waste a year in the UK. This food waste is responsible for nearly 25 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, equivalent to 5.4% of the UK’s territorial emissions. The majority, 4.5 million tonnes, is food that could have been eaten and is worth approximately £14 billion, which is equivalent to £60 a month an average family with two children.
GMCA will be supporting Food Waste Action Week across social media, print and digital advertising, and on the Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) website. The GMCA will be sharing tips and guides on how to store food properly and how to make the most of leftovers by linking the week to the ongoing campaign Buy Keep Eat Repeat to tackle food waste. GMCA will also be working with local authorities across the city-region to raise awareness of the week with residents and encourage them to get involved.
There will also be two special drop-ins for residents in Greater Manchester during Food Waste Action Week. Residents will be able to talk to the Recycle for Greater Manchester team at Oldham Library on Monday 6th March between 10am and 4pm and Bury Market between 10am and 1pm on Friday 10th March. The R4GM team will be on hand to give tips and hacks on food storage, leftovers and best before dates.
Cllr Martyn Cox, GMCA lead for the Green City Region and Waste and Recycling, said:
“We are proud to be supporting the third national Food Waste Action Week with the local authorities across the city-region.
“Tackling the impact of climate change is still our top priority in Greater Manchester as we look to hit our target of net zero carbon by 2038. Wasted food has a huge impact on climate change, from the release of greenhouse gases to the waste of land, water, and energy. With over 2.8 million residents living across the city-region, we’re urging everyone to play their part by taking simple steps to help reduce the amount of food we throw away.
“Wasting food also wastes money. Throwing away costs the average family more than £700 a year. That’s why our food waste campaign Buy Keep Eat Repeat has been helping residents to reduce food waste and save money by suggesting small changes to the way we shop, and how we store and prepare food.”
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In Greater Manchester we have noticed that many people are unaware of what bin nappies should go in and therefore are putting them in the paper and card recycling bin. This is not the right bin and is causing many lorry loads to be rejected and classed as general waste.
The #TedSays campaign aims to remind residents that nappies are not recyclable and should go in your general waste bin, focusing on a simple message please don’t put nappies in your recycling.
We are working with 9 local councils across Greater Manchester districts that we collect waste from – Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford, and Keep Britain Tidy.
Keep Britain Tidy is an independent charity with three goals – to eliminate litter, end waste and improve places.
All disposable nappies should go in your general waste bin.
Nappies that are put in the recycling spoil recycling and in some cases, classifies paper and card as general waste.
Here is a fun way to remember where to put nappies from Biffa and North London Waste Authority :
Read our blog on reusable nappies.
If reusable nappies are not for you, remember to put disposable nappies in your general waste bin.
Results highlighted that:
With more people aware of the environmental impact of throwing away nappies, more nappies are being thrown in the wrong bins.
Disposable nappies are made from a combination of materials such as plastics (of polypropylene, polyethylene and polyester), wood pulp, and super absorbent polymers and elastic.
The nappy market is trying to be more environmental too and “Eco” nappies are on the rise. In the UK there are no brands that are 100% biodegradable but many companies are taking steps in the right direction by using renewable materials such as cotton and corn-starch to replace the plastics during the manufacturing process.
This doesn’t mean they can be recycled. Although there are many nappies that have biodegradable components they will still take many years to breakdown.
It is important to note that labels or symbols on nappy packaging labelled as “biodegradable” does not mean they are recyclable. For more information on what these symbols mean watch the video from RecycleNow (opens in a new tab):
Italy and Holland (opens in a new tab) do have nappy recycling facilities, engineers have devised ways of recovering the plastic and other materials inside them, but these are very new and technology that is being tested. Unlike bottles, cans or cardboard, nappies are hard to recycle.
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We’re helping people across Greater Manchester get to grips with recycling plastic. With our it’s #GotToBeABottle campaign, we want you to recycle all your plastic bottles at home, this includes bottles like bathroom spray bottles, washing up liquid bottles and drinks bottles. Any plastic bottles you use around your home can go in your recycling bin. Other types of plastics such as yoghurt pots, fruit trays and plant pots go in your general waste bin.
The plastic bottle you recycle today can be made into something new such as furniture, playground equipment or even back into a new plastic bottle.
Find out more about what happens to your plastic here!
You may spot one of our adverts at the local supermarkets, bus shelters or at tram stops. If you see one, take a photo and share it with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #GotToBeABottle. You can also share photos of you recycling at home. We’d love to see your photos.
If you want to find out more about what we’re doing with recycling in Greater Manchester, sign up to our newsletter to get the latest information straight to your inbox.
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