Over ten million tonnes of food are wasted every year in the UK and a lot goes to landfill or is incinerated with general waste.

Not wasting food would save people a lot of money but we still throw away tonnes every day when there are millions of people in the world who don’t have enough to eat; unsustainable food production and waste also contribute to climate change.

As a result, the Government is introducing changes around the collection and processing of food waste. All councils in England will have to provide weekly, separate household food waste collections by March 2026.

Separate collections of food waste will prevent contamination of other waste, some of which could then be recycled. Food waste will be sent to anaerobic digestion facilities which will in turn provide sustainable energy, cutting down the more than 18 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions associated with this waste, including methane, a greenhouse gas that has 27-30 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide.

The government believes that if people are more aware of how much food they are wasting, they will want to do something about it, so the scheme will hopefully reduce overall waste. There are many reasons people waste food, including simply forgetting they had bought it, buying / cooking too much, sticking to best before dates rigidly, not planning meals and writing shopping lists.

The most common wasted foods in the UK are bread, bagged salad, fresh fruit and vegetables, cooked leftovers, milk, eggs, cheese, meat and fish. Fizzy pop too!

There are lots of ways to reduce our food waste. Here are some ideas:

Read more: The Problem with Food Waste

Since the end of Lockdown, a small group has been meeting every month to make ecobricks - a joint endeavour between MCA and the Quaker Friends.

The project is nearly complete and we will be building a planter in the Meeting House garden. The structure is to be built with the ecobricks and held together and protected from the elements by cob. We aim to have it completed by the end of August.

We all know how bad the fashion industry is for the planet, with high carbon emissions and pollution, so we held another Clothes Swap in May (this time with media included), encouraging people to wear ‘preloved’ clothes instead of buying new.  Good for the planet as well as people’s purses. We plan to hold another on Saturday, 23 November.

Also planned for the Autumn is a Fashion Show for Buxton and Leek College, organised by New Mills Fashion Activistas and supported by us.  It will consist of upcycled and altered clothes, showing the students what can be done with a little imagination and a needle and thread!  Each piece will have a story behind it and an environmental message. The show will be in college, for the students, but we are looking for anyone who has sewing skills and can create wonderful outfits to add to the show – please get in touch if you can.  If you don’t want to model it we will find someone who can!

If you feel you can get involved in any way please get in touch!
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You will probably be aware that Leek is now a Plastic Free Community.  It took two and a half years of hard work but we did it!   Thanks to the Sus Con team and all the businesses and organisations who have supported us.  Apart from encouraging people to use less single use plastic, it’s been a great way to get to know people and make friends in the community.

We are still working hard to keep the momentum going, looking for new businesses and allies to continue the fight against plastics.  So, if you know of any businesses or organisations who are interested in reducing their single use plastics, please get in touch.

Businesses that are already Plastic Free Champions can apply for the Silver and Gold Awards too by making more changes, including avoiding using plastics from the ‘Top Offenders List’ – such things as plastic bottles, plastic  carrier bags, bathroom plastics,  plastic packaging and balloons.   They are also asked to support a local plastic free initiative, spreading the plastic free message in the community. 

Read more: Plastic Free Leek – Latest from Sally

I’m thrilled that Homeward Studio has been officially recognised as a Plastic Free Champion as part of Plastic Free Communities, an ambitious community initiative designed to unite and empower organisations to reduce their collective plastic footprint.

I joined the Sustainable Consumer Group in September 2023 and was immediately invited to apply to become a Plastic Free Champion as part of the Surfers Against Sewage national Plastic Free Communities scheme.

The group aims to raise public awareness of how overconsumption is affecting our planet and how simple lifestyle changes can alter that. I was particularly interested in how it was trying to help people and businesses in our area consume less and recycle, repair and repurpose more. It also champions buying locally sourced, seasonal and organic food from local butchers and greengrocers, and encourages people to buy locally sourced and produced items to cut down on the transport needed to get the items to the shops.

Read more: Our Latest Plastic Free Champion

As you will hopefully be aware, the Sustainable Consumer group has been working towards Leek becoming a Plastic Free Community and we are finally there.

We needed 12 local businesses to become Plastic Free Champions and now we have reached our target!

We also needed 30 Plastic Free Allies. These are clubs, organisations, churches, Scouts, etc. In fact, anything that isn’t a business. Until very recently, we had 29 of these and NOW have just had the 30^th sign up.

We have also promoted Plastic Free through stalls, talks to groups such as WIs and U3A, litter picks, a Plastic Free harvest festival and plastic free picnics. More events will be held going forward to keep plastic firmly in the public eye!   The Town Council have also given us their full backing.

It’s really exciting to have reached Plastic Free Status. It has been three years of hard work. I am hoping to hold a celebration event for everyone when we have earned it.  Watch this space!

Read more: All Things Plastic!!