How waste-watching, furniture recycling and social responsibility can make a difference.
 
Love Food, Hate Waste!
Shropshire County Council’s crusade against wasted food.
6.7 million tonnes of food is thrown away by households in the UK every year. To put it another way, around a third of all the food we buy ends up being binned, and most of it could have been eaten. Some of the waste is made up of things like peelings, cores and bones, but the majority is, or once was, perfectly good food.
About 40% of this food is fresh fruit and vegetables. Over 4 million whole apples are thrown away every day. Meat and fish, bread and other bakery products, dairy produce, rice and pasta are all in the "top five" most wasted foods.
The main reasons for throwing away food are cooking or preparing too much (particularly rice or pasta) or not using food in time – such as throwing out fruit because it has gone off, or leaving things to run past their use-by date.
There are lots of potential reasons why food might not get eaten – our plans change; we forget what food we have in the cupboards; we forget to freeze or chill something to use at a later date; we lack the confidence or knowledge of how to use up our leftovers.
There are serious environmental implications too. The amount of food we waste is a drain on other resources – think of all the energy, water and packaging used in food production, transportation and storage.
If we stopped wasting food which could have been eaten, it would have the same impact on carbon emissions as taking one in five cars off UK roads! At a time of rising food costs it can also save us a lot of money. It’s estimated that each household throws away £250 - £400 each year in wasted, edible food.
If this is all a bit overwhelming, there is an excellent website www.lovefoodhatewaste.com that can provide lots of help and advice on cooking the right amounts, understanding “sell by” labels, tips on storage and best of all some really excellent recipes for leftovers.
Some food waste is inevitable. Egg shells, banana skins and tea bags are never going to be on the menu, so home composting is a great way to recycle this sort of waste. Special offer compost bins are available for Shropshire residents starting at £17.  Visit www.recycleforshropshire.com for details.

Finding furniture a home
And on the subject of waste, give a thought to the amount of useable household items we just throw away
In many cases, perfectly servicable furniture etc. is simply taken to the local tip and ends up as landfill, or burnt on garden bonfires. However, by contacting the local Shropshire Furniture Recycling Scheme, you can help the environment and assist other people at the same time as disposing of your unwanted goods.
The schemes operate on five sites throughout the county, and the local branch, situated at Stanmore, Bridgnorth, has already recycled 40 tons of furniture in the first year of operating. Donated goods are sold on cheaply to the general public, clubs and community groups, providing an operating income to allow the project to supply affordable furniture and household necessities to people in need. Charities, women’s refuges, people with mental health problems and many other deserving cases have all benefited from the scheme.
Working closely with local charities, the Bridgnorth depot is run by Jade Fellows-Smith and Andrew Smith, who are looking to recruit more volunteers to help with administration, manning the phone, van driving etc. The project is a Community Interest Company, and should have charity status itself this year.
If you need furniture, or have some to donate, or would like to help with the running of a facilty that combines social responsibility with environmental awareness, call  01746 764494.

Keeping it clean

Steve Brown of Bridgnorth District Council’s Street Scene Services tells us about his department’s essential role in caring for the local environment.

Bridgnorth District Council’s Street Scene service includes a street warden and other dedicated staff who attempt to keep the district as clean, safe and welcoming as possible. Services include street cleansing, grounds maintenance and greenspaces, pest control, public conveniences and septic tanks.
The services are delivered seven days a week to remove waste, debris and detritus from our towns and villages to ensure the district is as well-presented as possible.
We have also adopted enforcement powers for abandoned cars, litter, non-removal of dog faeces and stray dogs, because these issues have been consistently raised by residents as key concerns. All this allows fines for "environmental crimes" to be served on offenders.
The service is continually improving, a fact well noted by the audit commission. Satisfaction levels with the services are above the national district average; performance levels amongst the best of all national district councils and resident complaints regarding  litter and fly tipping are reducing. No complaints have been reviewed recently for grounds maintenance and greenspaces since the improvments to the service have been implemented. We recognise that we need to improve further, and we will continue to do so, from 6:00am, seven days a week, plus emergency call out if required. We are here to support the residents and visitors, and towns and villages, of the whole of the Bridgnorth district.