My Really Cool Recycling Blog

Posted on: 20 May 2020

When you run a business or restaurant that creates, processes and sells a lot of food, you will always incur some amount of wastage. Whether this waste comes from a product that has spoiled or from orders that are sent back, food waste is unavoidable. What you may not know is that there is a way to recycle this food waste that does not take the toll on the environment that simply dumping it in the bin does. Food waste is a major contributor to the destruction of the atmosphere, which is why food waste recycling services are so key to every food business's continued success. 

How Does Food Waste Negatively Impact The Environment? 

If you just throw your food scraps into your regular rubbish, they get sent to the exact same place as every other type of general waste: the landfill. Here, rubbish is left to decompose over thousands of years. However, unlike old TVs and bicycles, food scraps decompose much, much quicker and have a significantly more reactive type of decomposing. To put it bluntly: food scraps create a lot of methane as they decompose, and methane is one of the main gases that is leading to global warming. There is no way to remedy this once the food scraps leave your kitchen or business. 

Food Waste Recycling

Instead of simply throwing your food waste into your general bin, all you need to do to start removing your negative impact on the environment is to add another bin, provided by a commercial food waste removal company. These bins will be collected by your chosen company and taken to a processing warehouse where they are allowed to decompose while the methane gas is collected. They are also then mixed with other organic materials like wood chips and turned into mulch or fertiliser that can be used on crops. This not only stops pollution but also points to a more sustainable future where food can have a more efficient life cycle. 

What Food Is Accepted?

Not all foods are accepted by a commercial food waste removal company for a variety of reasons, such as their capacity to handle them, their storage size, their transport costs and so on. However, in general, most plant-based food items will be accepted as long as they don't come with any packaging. This includes common items such as the following:

• Bread and baked goods
• Fruits and vegetables
• Milk, cheese, butter and yoghurt
• Tea and coffee
• Leftover meals 

Meat is less accepted, but sometimes will be. Always check with the food waste recycling contractor that you are proposing to do business with before you sign any contracts.