By cutting food waste we can all save money

Oldham Council is encouraging residents to save themselves an estimated £720 a year by reducing food waste and recycling better.

By making the most of your food and not binning it all you could help make your money go further.

Planning your meals, storing food right, and using up leftovers are just some of the things you can do.

There are lots of ideas and tips on the ‘Buy, Keep, Eat, Repeat’ section of Recycle for Greater Manchester’s webpage: https://recycleforgreatermanchester.com/buykeepeatrepeat/

Councillor Jean Stretton, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “Money is really tight for many families at the minute due to the cost-of-living crisis.

“Fuel bills and food prices seem to be going up every day.

“It’s estimated every household throws away around £60 worth of food a month – that’s money that could come in very handy elsewhere.

“Just buying only what you need and planning meals, making sure fruit is stored properly and checking your fridge is at the right temperature could help out.”

All your food waste should go in your green bin or food caddy – not your grey one.

In 2021/22 the council collected 36,856 tonnes of grey bin rubbish.

Officials estimate 30 per cent or 11,057 tonnes of that was food waste – all of this could have been avoided through better food management, or at least recycled.

If food is recycled properly then it can be used to make compost, which can then be used to help grow even more food locally.

Councillor Stretton added: “If you put food waste in your grey bin rather than your green bin then you are helping drive up waste disposal costs.

“The council pays around £19m a year in disposal charges - ultimately it’s council tax payers’ who pick up the tab.

“We want to support residents so we can all recycle more and waste less.”

If you are struggling financially, we have a helpline in place for anyone who may need our help.

Call 0161 770 7007 between 9am-5pm on weekdays, or for more information visit: http://oldham.gov.uk/wecanhelp

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