Sideways News

The current waste disposal system just isn’t sustainable

Ever thought about what happens after you put food in the bin and it gets collected? Of course, it ends up on landfill sites, along with other goods we throw away. But apart from taking up valuable land space, food waste also release toxins into the environment.

The issue
Well-designed landfill sites can be cheap and effective, but they’re not the norm. And when food/organic waste breaks down anaerobically, i.e. without oxygen, it releases a gas mainly formed of methane and carbon dioxide (CO₂). Methane can destroy vegetation and, being a greenhouse gas, is part-responsible for global warming.

Landfill sites are the UK’s biggest man-made source of methane releases into the atmosphere - unit for unit, methane poses a bigger threat than CO₂. And the current waste disposal system just isn’t sustainable. Trewin Restorick, chief executive of environmental charity Global Action Plan, spoke to Sideways News.

"We’re running out of space. There are currently 109 square miles of landfill in the UK (equivalent to metropolitan districts of Stoke-on-Trent, Leicester and Hull). If we continue, we’ll run out of existing landfill in under nine years."

Global Action Plan are particularly concerned with the £10.2bn of UK food waste. Not only is 80% of this avoidable, but, as Trewin says, "the decay of organic matter produces methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times more powerful than CO₂. Food waste is responsible for a startling 18m tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions a year –the same as 23m London-to-New-York flights."

Two of their initiatives are Appetite for Action, informing children about waste and EcoTeams, encouraging households to reduce waste.

National action
So what’s the government policy? A Defra spokesperson told Sideways News, "The good news is recycling is embedded in the public mindset. We’re seeing increased personal recycling rates."

Statistics show progress. Total municipal waste decreased by 3% in the year ending December 2008, (28.5m to 27.7m tonnes). Household waste decreased from 25.3m to 24.6m tonnes and less was sent to landfill - 15.5 to 14.2m tonnes. Household recycling rate increased from 34.5% to 36.9% and there was less unrecycled waste, 328kg per head to 306kg.

"Around 6.7m tonnes of food waste comes from homes," said Defra. "That could create enough power to heat and power 2m homes. And the 100m tons of organic waste (food, farms and agriculture) could power a city like Birmingham five times over. Methane-producing food waste can also be used to make helium energy by a process called anaerobic digestion."

Other initiatives include landfill tax which increases by £8 a year (currently £40 a tonne), encouraging local authorities and businesses to recycle more. Local authorities also work closely with organisations like WRAP, to help business and households prevent waste and increase recycling.

Other initiatives are in the pipeline too. Defra said, "We are looking at restricting what waste can be sent to landfill. If it’s can be turned into energy or used as a resource e.g. glass, aluminium, food waste, why throw it? There’ll be an informal consultation later this year."

Local intervention
Individuals can also play their part to help reduce methane emission - not sending goods to landfill is one start. Recycling and re-using are the buzzwords with organisations like the Community Recycling Network UK an umbrella organisation for community-based, not-for-profit and co-operative waste management groups, which work in reduction, re-use and recycling. Concepts like Freecycle, a free exchange of unwanted goods, are an excellent way of ensuring goods are re-used.

Throwing away food scraps is possibly the worst eco-crime. Learning to use leftovers, shopping smart and not giving into seductive supermarket offers are part of the solution. Resources like LoveFoodHateWaste offer recipes and tips and include definitions of ‘Best before’ and ‘Use by’ dates. Clearer food labelling is another area Defra are exploring.

Doing your bit is worth it. One less item stuck in landfill equals less methane in our environment – isn’t that worth the effort in the battle against climate change?

SIDEWAYS News for fresh perspectives