Food waste tsar Ben Elliot delivers uncompromising message to local authorities
Food waste ‘tsar’ Ben Elliott has delivered an uncompromising wake-up call to local authorities, telling the Local Government Chronicle he will name and shame poor performing councils and businesses to try to change public attitudes to discarded food.
While recognising councils are struggling with dwindling budgets he said the government will have to get more draconian over food waste collections. 70% of the 10 million tonnes of food waste thrown away each year comes from households, which he said was becoming an issue of great ‘public concern’ due to associated greenhouse gas emissions and consequent impact on climate change. He told the LGC he would likely issue the name and shame list during Food Waste Week, 2-9 November.
How to design a separate food waste collection system that is affordable and effective will be discussed at the World Biogas Summit at the Birmingham NEC on July 3rd and 4th. Among those speaking will be Dr Andy Rees OBE, Head of Waste Strategy in Wales – a world leader in recycling to AD, and Andrew Bird, Head of Recycling and Fleet Services for Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, which saved £200,000 annually after introducing separate food waste collections for recycling to AD.
This May, Councils called on the government to guarantee long-term funding for mandatory food waste collections proposed in its waste strategy.
See the full LGC story here:
Register to hear Dr Andy Rees OBE and Andrew Bird speak at the World Biogas Summit here:
