If you’ve filled up your normal food waste bin, you might be wondering whether you can take food waste to the tip, especially as recycling collections are disrupted over the festive period.
As the festive season approaches, many of us will have more food waste than normal. This usually stems from cooking for extra guests and cooking a big Christmas dinner which can produce a lot of wasted food.
One of the things I’m quite passionate about is reducing waste in all areas of my life. I buy mostly second-hand clothes and furniture and try to recycle as much as I possibly can.
I worked as a chef for many years and it is honestly astounding the amount of food that would get wasted between what came back uneaten on people’s plates to food that was thrown away because it was out of date.
Personally, I often eat food that is past its best-before date but of course, legally we weren’t allowed to serve it in a restaurant setting.
Can You Take Food Waste To The Tip?
Yes, you can take food waste to the tip, but this should always be a last resort. It may be worth double-checking you can take food waste to your local tip before heading there as some have different rules from others and it will vary across the country.
Usually, you will need to put it in the skip marked ‘non-recyclable waste’ but do ask a member of staff if you are unsure.
If you’re finding this is a recurring issue for your family you could request an additional brown food waste bin from your local council or consider other options such as composting some of your food waste.
Putting Food Waste Out For Recycling
Before taking food waste to the tip, you could actually put it out for recycling with your usual food waste, even if your brown food waste bin is full.
It needs to be in a compostable bag or wrapped in newspaper and putting it out as it is not recommended as it could attract animals such as seagulls and foxes.
Try placing it in a plastic container with a lid and attaching a note explaining what it is for the recycling team.
Have A Plan To Reduce Your Food Waste
Reducing food waste dramatically can take some planning so here are a few tips to get you started.
- Look up recipes before Christmas that use up leftovers such as vegetable peels and cooked meat. Save them on your phone or print them out so you have them handy.
- Vegetable peels can be made into soups, potato skins and crisps.
- Stock up on freezer-safe bags and containers.
- Learn the difference between Best Before and Use By
- Make stock with leftover meat carcasses.
How To Reduce Food Waste Before Christmas
If you know your household is likely to throw away a lot of food over the festive period it might be a good idea to have a plan for your leftovers and a system in place to ensure food gets eaten, cooked or frozen before it’s used by date.
You could also consider reducing the amount of food you buy for Christmas. There are actually quite a few foods people tend to buy in the run-up to Christmas because they are traditional but no one ends up eating them.
Prime examples are nuts in their shells, Christmas cake and bread sauce.
It’s also not worth buying things just because one person likes them if it means the rest of that product will likely end up in the bin.
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Other Solutions For Reducing Food Waste
If you’ve already bagged up all of your extra food waste, then it may be too late to turn it into a tasty meal. There are still some other things you could try though.
- Offer greens and vegetable peels to friends and neighbours who have pets like rabbits.
- Buy a compost bin for your garden.
- Freeze the food waste until the next collection when your food waste bin may be emptier.
- Ask a neighbour if you can put it in their recycling, especially if they have been away over the festive period and have less food waste than normal.
- Add food waste to your normal household rubbish bin as a one-off or temporary measure.
