Bristol Waste's Food Campaign is a Resounding Success

Bristol Waste’s Food Waste Campaign
is a Resounding Success

Bristol Waste Company has released figures which show that their ‘Slim My Waste – Feed My Face’ campaign had a positive effect on food recycling rates across the city. Just over 290 tonnes of extra food waste has been collected in the 10 weeks since the campaign began in the summer.

The campaign, which involved placing colourful stickers on bins to encourage people to recycle their food waste rather than binning it, also put an emphasis on creating less waste in the first place.

Food waste powering Bristol

Bristol has really benefitted from the increase in food waste recycling. The waste has been sent to a processing facility where it’s turned into gas, electricity and fertiliser. The energy produced in the course of a year is enough to power 180 homes. Processing the food waste this way is cost-effective, and it’s better for the environment. Because less food waste is going to landfill and releasing methane as it degrades, around 174.3 tonnes of C02 has been saved.

Increasing awareness of recycling

The campaign has also led to an increased awareness in recycling in general. During the campaign, Bristol Waste had a 405% increase in requests for food waste bins, 37% more requests for green recycling boxes, and a 43% increase in requests for black recycling boxes. There was also a 15% decrease in the amount of general waste collected.

Bristol Waste’s Development & Sustainability Manager said that when the company found that the average black wheelie bin was filled a quarter of the way with food and that households were wasting around £60 of food each month, it had to act. She added that it is fantastic to see the campaign changing attitudes and behaviours and that it has helped take Bristol a step closer to becoming a zero waste city.

The council member for Waste and Recycling in the city said he is pleased that the campaign has captured people’s imaginations and helped increase recycling rates. He added that he’d like to thank residents who have engaged with the campaign and that he hopes its success will continue. The campaign has been recognised by the waste industry as an innovative way to increase recycling rates.

Bristol Waste is predicting that the campaign will continue to benefit Bristol in the years ahead.  In the coming year alone it’s expected to save the city tens of thousands of pounds and reduce the amount of harmful greenhouse gases being released into the air. It’s thought that more homes could eventually be powered by the biogas created from food waste processing.

Images courtesy of Bristol Waste Company