This Food Waste Action Week (17th -23rd March) Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is asking residents to ‘Be Mighty, Recycle!’ and “Buy Loose. Waste Less”.
By looking at what we buy and only buying the exact amount that you need you can save money, time, packaging and the planet. Mighty actions, however small, can make a big difference! By working together, it soon adds up if you times each small action by 66 million people living in the UK.
The average 4-person household in Wales throws away £84 worth of edible food a month, despite 77% of people citing the cost of food as a big concern.
Food waste remains the most under-recycled material in Wales, but with weekly, kerbside, food waste recycling available to every household in Rhondda Cynon Taf, and more recently in workplaces and public spaces, everyone has the opportunity to recycle their food waste, wherever they are.
Thanks to the Council’s food waste recycling scheme and the separate food waste caddies, it’s clear to see just how much food we throw away every day. By keeping check on the amount of food we waste, you can think about portion sizes and the weekly shopping list and cut down on the food you buy.
It’s estimated that 25% of the average rubbish bag or bin in Wales is made up of food and most of this could have been eaten.
In Rhondda Cynon Taf we introduced the standardisation of waste collection in September 2024 in a bid to help get food waste out of the black bags and into the food waste caddy – and the good news is that there has been a 17% increase in food waste recycled and a 36% decrease in black bag waste collected! We are also consistently recycling over 70% of our waste and are on track to smash the 70% Welsh Governments target.
In 2022 a WRAP black bag analysis in Rhondda Cynon Taf found that 39% of all black bag waste was made up of food waste – the actions that we have taken have helped to reduce this significantly! But there is still more we can do – simple things like buying loose fruit and vegetables could save 8.2M shopping baskets of food waste per year, it will also save packaging and help you to focus on buying the exact amount that you need, saving pennies and the planet.
Even though we are getting better in RCT at recycling our food waste, the real goal is to ensure that there is no food wasted in the beginning. Some inedible items, like turkey carcases, t-bags and eggshells are unavoidable and will need to go into your food waste caddy to be recycled. However, by planning your meals ahead and only cooking what you need or freezing your leftovers/uneaten foods, you can ensure that less food is wasted in the first place.
Wales Recycles have some great recipe ideas - https://www.walesrecycles.org.uk/six-mighty-dishes and are supporters of Love Food Hate Waste - https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.
If you’re not already signed up, you can find more information at www.rctcbc.gov.uk/foodwaste.
Councillor Ann Crimmings, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council's Cabinet Member for Environment and Leisure said:
“The latest figures show that more residents than ever before are joining the food waste recycling scheme! We are delighted that so many people are seeing just how easy it is to recycle your food waste. However, there are still some people who don’t recycle their food waste.
“We are committed to doing all we can to recycle as much as we possibly can and will continue to invest for the future to ensure we have high-quality vehicles and easy-to-use facilities that people rely upon to recycle.
“We have a dedicated food waste recycling plant right here in our County Borough, based in Bryn Pica, Llwydcoed, which sees more food waste than ever before being converted into enough energy to power homes. “We want to succeed in partnership with our communities, which is why we provide an effective weekly kerbside recycling and food waste collection scheme that is free of charge to use, as well as community facilities and ongoing education and awareness raising on the subject.”
For more information about the Council’s Food Waste recycling scheme and to order a food waste caddy visit www.rctcbc.gov.uk/foodwaste.
For more tips and advice visit https://lovefoodhatewaste.com
Posted on 19/03/2025