By Isle of Wight Observer
Isle of Wight Council has joined up to Love Food Hate Waste’s new ‘Compleat it’ campaign.
The main aim of the campaign is about eating the whole ingredient or food and letting no edible parts go to waste. Over the next few weeks, the council will be sharing top tips, facts and advice from Love Food Hate Waste on making sure you get the best value from your food.
When food that is grown and produced for us to eat goes uneaten or into landfill – such as stalks, peelings and bread ends – all the resources that have gone into bringing that food to our plates, such as land, water and energy – go to waste, too.
This has a huge effect on our environment, as those resources could be used for something else, or saved entirely, to reduce our impact on the planet.
“We’re supporting this campaign because it’s all about getting the best value from the food we buy and makes the most of those nutrients,” said Councillor Michael Murwill, Cabinet member for waste services.
“Saving food saves money and helps to slow down global warming and deforestation. Reducing the amount of food that ends up in the bin also means cutting down on unnecessary packaging waste. If we all make a few small changes and start using up the food we buy, together we can make a big difference.”
Waste services manager, Natasha Dix, said: “We are already doing our bit here on the Island by recycling more food in our food caddies than ever before but we could do better. Love Food Hate Waste research has found that the UK is saving £3.4 billion a year compared with 2007, not to mention saving 5.0 million tonnes of CO2, simply by recycling and cutting down on food waste – the equivalent of taking 2.2 million cars off the road. Keeping good food out of the bin really does make a difference.”
The best thing we can all do is to make sure the food that makes it to our plates is enjoyed. Anything that we can’t compleat (egg shells, tea bags and banana skins, for example) can be composted or recycled using the food waste recycling service at home.
Love Food Hate Waste research has found that a typical family of four could be saving as much as £70 each month, simply by saving more of the food we buy from going in the bin or buying less in the first place.
The council will be running the campaign daily across its social media channels (Twitter: @iwight and Facebook: @isleofwightcouncil ) during March.
For further information on Love Food Hate Waste’ Compleating campaign, please visit: http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/compleating
