By Darren Hedges

Brighton Paper Round

 

Echoing off the back streets and corridors of our recycling rounds we’ve long been hearing Chinese whispers concerning a behind closed-doors waste strategy for this ‘green’ city. I doubt if there is anything rotten in the state of Denmark, but in Brighton and Hove, in summertime, there is definitely an unpleasant smell emanating from the bin areas. It got me thinking, what can realistically be done about it? In all too many tourist cities, the pleasure seeking is marred by the stench of inadequate waste management.

For the Brighton community, I have a vision. That vision is of hygienic lanes and clean recycling areas, aromatic back alley café’s and cute restaurant mews untainted by the fetid aroma of rotting food matter and free from the accompanying flies, vermin and squabbling seagulls. What could bring about such a revolution? With perhaps only a little collective thinking, and certainly some good old fashioned vested self interest, the introduction of food waste recycling could help.

The problem of food waste is a hot topic and the facts are pretty alarming. Let me provide you with a little information. It is reported that over 16 million tons of food waste ends up in landfill in the UK each year to an estimated cost of £22 billion. The food then rots in the ground to produce methane, with the food production industry collectively contributing around 20% of the country’s CO2 emissions.

In contrast to this, think of the 1 in 7 people globally, being short of the food they require to be healthy. The answer to the problem requires action from food waste producers that’s you and me. The recommended action is to minimize unnecessary food production and wastage, then to recycle what is left. Our solution – in line with Friends of the Earth and the Government is to transform food waste into bio-fertilizer and bio-gas for crops and energy. But is not food waste recycling a dirty and smelly enterprise? In the right hands the opposite is true.

Separating food from your waste stream can make your general waste clean and dry. It’s simple to separate and the disposed food is then controlled in freshly exchanged smaller lockable bins. Hey presto your business has a hygienic, compact bin area to be proud of and one that will not repel your customers.

Roll this simple change out across the community and we have the vision of our quirky streets, parks, squares, beach fronts non-smelly and untainted by pests.

A business community, cleaning up its own environment, working to improve its local environment, and contributing to the global environment and in the process producing a prime example of what a ‘green’ tourist city should be?

One simple change – performed together, without a sniff of conspiracy. Doesn’t that sound very ‘Brighton’?