[New] WASTE and the Journey to Net Zero

are going to be collected on schedule and then genuinely recycled into feedstocks or new products. The initiative seeks to provide as much information as possible about the Final Destinations, the point where material collected for recycling ceases to be waste and becomes either a feedstock for new products or a new product in itself.

Traditional waste recycling has been seen as a means of reducing the need for landfill, of conserving finite resources, of protecting habitats, and of reducing energy costs. Now, advancing climate science allows us to understand with greater certainty the role of reducing and recycling waste in striving towards Carbon Net Zero. And at the same time there is growing awareness that achieving Net Zero cannot rely entirely on transforming energy generation to renewable forms and to the replacement of the internal combustion engine in transport with electric and hydrogen alternatives.

In this short piece we consider the potential of Tackling Food Waste and of Recycling More in moving towards Net Zero, and how Hertfordshire WasteAware (https://www.hertfordshire.gov. uk/services/recycling-waste-and-environment/ recycling-and-waste/wasteaware-campaigns/ wasteaware-campaigns.aspx), the campaigning partnership of all eleven Hertfordshire Councils on household waste matters, is working towards these objectives.

According to Government funded charity WRAP, in their 2021 report Net Zero: Why Resource Efficiency holds the Answers (https://wrap.org. uk/sites/default/files/2021-03/WRAP-Net-zerowhy-resource-efficiency-holds-the-answers. pdf), edible food waste worldwide contributes 8% of total manmade CO2 emissions (some estimates suggest 10%). This is because when edible food is wasted, all the energy intensive resources used in food production – land, fertiliser, machinery, irrigation, rearing, harvesting, butchering, preparing, packaging, storing, transporting, refrigerating, and retailing – are wasted too.

Wasting edible food is a problem in Hertfordshire. A representative sample survey of the contents of waste bins across Hertfordshire in 2020 found that nearly a quarter of the weight of the bin was edible food waste – not scraps and skins, but food thrown away instead of being eaten. And of course, during a cost-of-living crisis there is a serious financial dimension as well, with WRAP estimating that the average family may waste over £700 worth of edible food per annum.

WasteAware will be launching a campaign to address the waste of edible food with its environmental and financial consequences head on.

This new initiative is being trialled in Three Rivers Council. Consisting of easy-to-follow steps on buying and using food without wasting it and an exciting challenge with a great prize, the campaign will be available on line and WasteAware will also reach out to residents groups, schools and community events to broaden engagement. After evaluation in Spring 2023, the initiative will be rolled out across Hertfordshire later in the year.

As WRAP’s report Net Zero: Why Resource Efficiency holds the Answers (https://wrap.org. uk/sites/default/files/2021-03/WRAP-Net-zerowhy-resource-efficiency-holds-the-answers.pdf) indicates “By increasing the amount of materials recycled, and increasing the proportion of these recycled in the UK, greater carbon reductions can be achieved.” The latest update to What happens to your recycling? shows that both of these are happening in Hertfordshire. The overall Recycling Rate increased from 52.4% in 2020/21 to 52.7% of total household waste in 2021/22. At the same time, the proportion of dry materials (plastics, cans, paper, cardboard, glass) recycled at Final Destinations in the UK has increased from 72.55% in 2020/21 to 74.34% in 2021/22.

A second WasteAware initiative What happens to your recycling? (https://www.hertfordshire.gov. uk/services/recycling-waste-and-environment/ recycling-and-waste/wasteaware-campaigns/ what-happens-to-your-recycling.aspx ) aims to boost recycling confidence, the knowledge that materials set out correctly by householders 100% of Glass, Wood, Scrap Metal, Waste Electricals and Steel Cans collected in Hertfordshire were transformed at Final Destinations in the UK. What’s more, 92% of the 17,500 tonnes of plastics collected in Hertfordshire went to Final Destinations in the UK. Note also that 100% of organic material (garden waste and recycled food waste) collected in Hertfordshire is treated at composting and Anaerobic Digestion facilities in Hertfordshire itself or in adjacent counties.

Why not check out the Hertfordshire WasteAware webpages (https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/ services/recycling-waste-and-environment/ recycling-and-waste/wasteaware-campaigns/ wasteaware-campaigns.aspx) for more information on campaigns aimed at reducing and recycling waste, all in their way helping along the road to Net Zero.