BigGreen urges nation to adopt legislation similar to California.
The Leeds, England-based waste management firm
BigGreen is urging the British government to ban the landfilling of food waste and scraps, and the company points to California’s Assembly Bill 1826 as a suitable model to follow.
“Companies and organizations that routinely produce food waste should be compelled by law to make arrangements to recycle it, as Britain’s increasingly full landfill sites reach crisis point,” states BigGreen in an April 2015 press release. “We should be aiming for a zero waste economy instead of allowing it to produce harmful greenhouse gasses,” the group adds.
BigGreen says Scotland is ahead of other parts of the United Kingdom in terms of recycling, and that “it could be time to follow the California model, where all producers of organic waste become responsible for their recycling.”
Mark Hall, a spokesperson for BigGreen, adds, “It's a well-known statistic that British homes throw out 7 million tons of food every year, but the shocking truth is that companies in the U.K. do exactly the same—another 7 million tons, and that is nothing but a national embarrassment.”
According to BigGreen, the biggest culprits when it comes to food waste are:
- the food processing industry;
- waste from supermarkets and shops;
- restaurants;
- hospitals, schools, prisons and other institutions; and
- workplace cafeterias and canteens.
Hall points to new regulations in California, which came into force in 2014, as a model for the British Parliament to consider. “California’s massive economy is comparable in size to Britain's, and [California] Assembly Bill 1826 requires all commercial generators of food waste to have it composted or transformed to energy via anaerobic digestion,” says Hall.
“That may seem a big ask for any company,” Hall continues, “and bosses will find themselves scratching their heads asking questions about anaerobic digestion as if it’s a major expense to their balance sheet, but there’s nothing to be worried about.”
Most companies and organizations can simply make an arrangement with their current waste management company to collect organic waste separately, Hall adds. Ultimately, he says, waste companies must adapt their practices to enable greener collection and then recycling.
“Anaerobic digestion and composting are preferred outcomes for food waste, as rotting food left in the landfill releases methane, which is one of the more damaging greenhouse gasses,” says Hall, “So the sooner companies get around to recycling organic waste, the better.”
BigGreen says the biggest obstacle to the California model is what it calls a “knee-jerk reaction” to new work practices. “Most of the time, the general waste bin seems the most convenient place to dump unused food,” says Hall, “and now’s the time to change our mindset when it comes to this – both in the home and in the workplace.”