News
Friday 02 October 2009
Linlithgow is first to get Canny
Linlithgow Climate Challenge is working with Changeworks to be the first town to join up to a brand new project, Kitchen Canny.
The project aims to help householders find practical ways to reduce their food waste so that they don't throw away hundreds of pounds of edible food each year.
£70 million worth of fresh fruit is thrown away by Scottish households per year. That's equivalent of an apple a day for every school child and teacher in Scotland for the next year and a half!
According to a recent report by the Waste and Resources Action Programme, this amounts to £430 worth of food per year in the average household. This same study also revealed that around 60% people do not believe they waste food at all.
Producing, transporting and storing food uses vast amounts of energy, water and packaging. When you waste food, you waste all of those resources too. It's worth thinking through when throwing away a piece of fruit that has been grown, had water pumped to it, harvested, flown half way around the planet, packaged, chilled and transported to your home via the supermarket.
In addition, the majority of our food waste ends up on landfill sites where its decomposition causes methane to be released, a powerful green house gas. Composting can reduce this impact but why waste good food in the first place?
Communities throughout Lothian and Borders will be taking part over the next eighteen months.
Linlithgow residents who want to take up the challenge should contact
Anna Derricourt
Food Waste Project Co-ordinator
Changeworks
0131 555 4010
ADerricourt@changeworks.org.uk
Or visit www.changeworks.org.uk/kitchencanny
