Food Waste
In Liverpool the average person throws away food to the value of £400 per year.
Fruit and vegetables are the single biggest component of the foods we throw away, accounting for 40% of food thrown out.
The UK throws more apples and potatoes away than any other food item. That's because these items are bagged and often contain more fruit or vegetables than we actually need, so it's better to buy these items loose so we can pick out the amount we need also reducing the amount of packaging we buy!!!
Love Food Hate Waste
Love Food Hate Waste is a national campaign being run by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme).
WRAP is funded by the government and works to encourage and enable businesses and consumers to be more efficient in their use of materials and recycle more things more often. This helps to minimise landfill, reduce carbon emissions and improve our environment.
For more information on this campaign visit the Love Food Hate Waste website.
The food we don't consume doesn't have to be thrown away into our normal waste bin!!
The Green Cone
The Green Cone is a food waste digester. It can reduce waste by up to 20%.
The authority is promoting the digester to residents to encourage them to compost their kitchen waste and so reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill.
How it Works
The patented design of the unit utilises a solar heating effect between the inner and outer cones to promote air circulation, which facilitates the growth of beneficial micro-organisms and the desirable aerobic digestion process.
The household food waste is converted into water, carbon dioxide and small amount residue that will only need to be removed every 2 years in a well operating Green Cone. The residue will occupy the bottom 250 mm of the digestion basket after the decomposition of about a tonne of food waste. After about five years this small quantity of residue must be removed and dug into the garden sub-soil.
What can be put in the Digester?
The Green Cone takes all household food waste, including vegetable scraps, raw and cooked meat or fish, bones, dairy products and other organic kitchen waste e.g. tea bags, bread etc. The Green Cone comes with a 4 litre kitchen caddy for collecting and carrying household food waste to the Green Cone.
Green Cone is designed to handle the following amount of waste:-
1 full caddy every 1-2 days during the summer months
1 full caddy every 2-3 days during the winter months
The Green Cone will dispose of more than 5 kg of food waste a week, which is over 25% greater than that produced by the average household.
Remember to add accelerator powder during the winter months; this aids the aerobic digestion process.
Accelerator powder is simply a mixture of natural bacteria on a cereal base that ensures a healthy population of safe bacteria to keep your Green Cone working efficiently. Your Green Cone is provided with accelerator powder and more can be purchased from the supplier of your Green Cone kitchen waste digester.
Maintenance
Your Green Cone needs very little maintenance. As noted in the section on installation, it is important to ensure that the top of the basket and the bottom lip of the outer green cone are below ground level and always fully covered with soil.
In a well operating Green Cone very little waste residue will be produced. Should the residue build-up to ground level and not decrease, the cones can be removed to access the basket. The residue can be dug into any suitable area of ground.
What are the Benefits of Composting Kitchen Waste?
It reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill.
It provides nutrients for your garden.
It promotes self sufficiency and deals with waste production at source.
How to Order
You can order your food waste digester by visiting the Recyclenow website or by visiting The Green Cone website.
Please note that prices may vary on each website.