The Isle of Wight Council is teaming up with Amey to tackle food waste this summer as a study conducted in 2020 found that 25% of general waste was food that could have been recycled.
Almost a fifth of Island residents in the comparison study said they were not using a food caddy to dispose of food waste.
In a bid to improve the situation, Amey will be hosting events beginning 3rd August where residents can pick up a new food caddy and receive advice on avoiding food waste.
From September, leaflets will be given to households currently not using the food waste service, with advice on getting the most out of your food caddy. It also provides information on what happens to your food waste and how it’s recycled.
On behalf of the council, Amey has also created a video showing what happens to your food waste once it’s been collected from your home.
Natasha Dix, the council’s strategic manager for contracts, waste and environment, said:
“We would like to thank residents taking part in our waste composition study last year, looking at what we are putting in which bins. It provided a great insight into how we may not be disposing of our food waste correctly. By recycling food waste in your food caddy, you could save space in your black bin.
“We can all be guilty of buying too much food to begin with! The ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ campaign has lots of recipe ideas for using leftovers at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.”
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Councillor Jonathan Bacon, Cabinet lead for heritage, waste and environment, added:
“People don’t think you can recycle food waste but that is exactly what you are doing when you use your food caddy at home.
“Your food is collected and taken to a specialist plant to become farmland fertiliser and electricity which helps the environment and reduces the amount of waste to landfill.”
Supermarket Tesco is supporting the campaign by providing a limited number of free compostable food waste bags or wash up pads which will be given on a first come, first served basis, to anyone taking home a food caddy from the Amey stand outside the main store in Ryde. The team from Amey will be at the Ryde store on the below dates.
FOOD WASTE RECYCLING EVENTS AUGUST 2021:
| Date | Venue | Town | Time |
| Tuesday 3rd August | Tesco Extra | Ryde | 10:00-15:00 |
| Thursday 5th August | Kings Square (adjacent to Waitrose) | East Cowes | 10:00-15:00 |
| Monday 9th August | Tesco Extra | Ryde | 10:00-15:00 |
| Tuesday 10th August | ASDA | Newport | 10:00-15:00 |
| Wednesday 11th August | Tesco Extra | Ryde | 14:00-19:00 |
| Thursday 12th August | St James Square | Newport | 10:00-15:00 |
| Saturday 14th August | ASDA | Newport | 10:00-15:00 |
| Monday 16th August | Ryde Town Square (outside Co-Op) | Ryde | 10:00-15:00 |
| Wednesday 18th August | Tesco Extra | Ryde | 10:00-15:00 |
| Friday 20th August | Minghella Square | Ryde | 10:00-15:00 |
| Saturday 21st August | Tesco Extra | Ryde | 10:00-15:00 |
| Monday 23rd August | Moa Place car park | Freshwater | 10:00-15:00 |
| Tuesday 24th August | Tesco Extra | Ryde | 14:00-19:00 |
| Wednesday 25th August | St Thomas Square | Newport | 10:00-15:00 |
| Thursday 26th August | 1Leisure The Heights (outside centre entrance) | Sandown | 10:00-16:00 |
| Friday 27th August | Outside Shanklin Methodist Church (Regent Street) | Shanklin | 10:00-15:00 |
| Sunday 29th August | Tesco Extra | Ryde | 11:00-15:00 |
| Monday 30th August | Kings Square (adjacent to Waitrose) | East Cowes | 10:00-15:00 |
Residents do not have to wait to visit one of the events if they need either an indoor, outdoor or both food caddies. They can be ordered for free online at www.iwight.com/waste or by calling 01983 823777.
Great to remind people and show the good that a little effort can make a big difference to the environment. Some other councils provide compostable food bags, perhaps this would encourage more people to engage in the whole process.
I will be absolutely upset and horrified when I receive a leaflet about NOT using my food recycling bin. I don’t buy food to waste and throw away, my peelings etc go in my compost bin to be spread over my vegetable patch! When I do occasionally have ‘ bones’ they go into a composable bag then frozen before putting out as necessary. I’m sure I’m not alone feeling in this way.
There are many people who don’t recycle at all. I have a neighbour who generates so much rubbish and they don’t recycle at all. They care not for the environment. It’s disgusting, they are disgusting.
I’m surrounded by those types. A few years ago, there was a terrible stink along the road coming from a bag on the pavement, moisture from it running along the ground, some thoughtless types had thrown away a load of meat, probably emptied out their freezer and decided to dump it all on the pavement for some reason. So not only did some poor animal have to die to provide food, but its meat wasn’t even valued enough to eat. And this is in a ‘poor’ area. How can they afford to be so wasteful?
Silly that the council reminds people to recycle their food waste, yet when the bin lorry comes and collect it they put the food waste into the black rubbish bin which completely defeats the object. Rather than reminding the public, they should remind their workers on how to do their jobs!
I find it astonishing that supermarkets financially encourage customers to buy multiple items of the same food, or larger items with their offers, and yet no-one says anything!
And we wonder why we have more waste.
I already but black&bin bags white.i gave up keep buying bags for the food.too costly for me I can’t go out too buy and online ones never fit my small caddy.so I’m happy too continue if bags were supplied too sat disabled folk on low incomes
But it’s also true the bin men simply mix stuff a lot so no point in separating stuff.all goes together sometimes
It’s disgusting the amount of food that some people waste. When you see some of what they throw away, and often the type of people that we are all supposed to feel sorry for as they are regarded as “under privileged”. How can they afford to buy so much food, only to waste so much of it, when they are supposed to be poor? Either their state benefits are too much or they are getting them subsidized somehow. I never throw food away, I only buy what I need, when I need it, and never waste anything. But that is because I am genuinely poor and can’t afford to, and also because I care about our environment.
WE scrimp and scape around to sort waste into neat groups for them to collect and we still get higher and higher council tax each year and bin men whose nest move will be to ask US to take carry the bins to the lorry to empty.
Time was, when they would walk up your path and come down the step into your backyard to collect the bins, and I don’t remember then wearing gloves back then, (though I think they should) but then they started saying the bins had to be put in the path as near to the pavement as possible, and then after some years, the bins had to be put out onto the pavements, and then we got to where we are today. Things just get worse, less services, more people, even less services and reduction in quality of services we still do get.