A competition has been launched to encourage people to cut down on the amount of rubbish they throw away.

People living or working in Hammersmith and Fulham can take part in the Zero Waste Challenge and be in with the chance of winning £100 for a good cause of their choice – if they manage to reduce the amount of rubbish throw away in their homes or the workplace over the space of one week.

Every year, Londoners throw away around 540,000 tonnes of food and drink that could have been consumed, with the average family in the UK throwing away £50 of good food every month.

The challenge is to think twice before putting something in the bin. Many items can be recycled, repaired, reused or given away. Planning meals more carefully and using or freezing leftovers can cut food waste. Food that cannot be used can be composted or put through a food waste disposal unit.

Western Riverside Waste Authority (WRWA), which processes waste and recycling from four London boroughs - H&F, Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea, and Lambeth - has organised the competition.

Householders, schools, businesses and community groups are all invited to take part. The challenge can be taken in any week in January, with the competitor having to keep a waste reducing diary, monitoring how the challenge is going and how they are managing to reduce their rubbish. Two winners in each borough will be chosen by a panel of judges.

Diaries must be completed and entries sent to WRWA by Monday, February 6 with the best diaries and extracts from the challenge being published on the WRWA website. For more information on the challenge, visit Zero Waste or email recycle@lbhf.gov.uk.

 

January 10, 2013