Somerset, UK increased food waste recycling during lockdown
Somerset in the UK recycled an extra 3,500 tonnes of key materials during the COVID-19 lockdown, including an additional 1,182 tonnes of food waste.
According to the Somerset Waste Partnership, weekly kerbside collections of recycling continued in the region throughout the lockdown period. April, May, and June saw a big jump in the amount of food waste, cardboard, plastic bottles, glass bottles and aluminium cans in the weekly kerbside collections compared to 2019 figures.
Thousands more people requested extra recycling containers during the lockdown. In 2019, Somerset residents recycled 135,000 tonnes through weekly collections and the county’s 16 recycling sites, saving more than 67,000 tonnes of carbon.
According to the partnership, overall, 90% of that recycling stayed in the UK, and 51% stayed in Somerset – including 100% of food and garden waste.
“At such a difficult time, it is heartening to see that people continued to take responsibility for doing their bit to protect our environment,” said Mickey Green, managing director of the Somerset Waste Partnership.
“We always encourage people to reduce their waste and reuse where they can. But when things have to be disposed of, in Somerset recycling is increasingly what most people choose to do.”
According to the Somerset Waste Partnership, weekly kerbside collections of recycling continued in the region throughout the lockdown period. April, May, and June saw a big jump in the amount of food waste, cardboard, plastic bottles, glass bottles and aluminium cans in the weekly kerbside collections compared to 2019 figures.
Thousands more people requested extra recycling containers during the lockdown. In 2019, Somerset residents recycled 135,000 tonnes through weekly collections and the county’s 16 recycling sites, saving more than 67,000 tonnes of carbon.
According to the partnership, overall, 90% of that recycling stayed in the UK, and 51% stayed in Somerset – including 100% of food and garden waste.
“At such a difficult time, it is heartening to see that people continued to take responsibility for doing their bit to protect our environment,” said Mickey Green, managing director of the Somerset Waste Partnership.
“We always encourage people to reduce their waste and reuse where they can. But when things have to be disposed of, in Somerset recycling is increasingly what most people choose to do.”
