Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Hospital food waste in Carmarthenshire is being turned into compost. The council is collecting food waste from Amman Valley, Mynydd Mawr and Llandovery hospitals to prevent it going to landfill. Food waste collections are also underway from the staff accommodation at Glangwili and Prince Philip hospitals. Just like the food collected from our homes, it is taken to a special processing plant at Nantycaws where it is mixed with green waste and turned into compost which can be used in our gardens. Executive Board Member for Street Scene Cllr Colin Evans said: “Food waste sent to landfill produces harmful gases such as methane as it rots which contributes to global warming and increases the threat of climate change. “We are delighted we have been able to offer this service to our partners at the health board as it will also help us to increase our recycling rate.” Like all LSB (Local Service Board) partners, Hywel Dda Health Board is working hard to reduce its carbon footprint. Food collec...

A Gwendraeth Valley school is raising awareness on the amount of good food that is needlessly thrown in the bin. Ysgol Y Castell in Kidwelly has been carrying out a project on food waste as part of its work under the Eco Schools programme. Figures show that in Wales we throw away a staggering 410,000 tonnes of food and drink each year. Not only is it bad for the environment but it is bad for the pocket too. In a normal week, a family of four throws away around £12 worth of perfectly good food that could have been eaten. With support from Carmarthenshire County Council and as part of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, staff and pupils at Ysgol Y Castell have been looking at how they can reduce their food waste both in school and at home. Children school were shocked to hear how much food is bought and then wasted. They decided to write letters to send home to parents with tips on what they could do to reduce their food waste including the importance of carefully planning shopping a...

Householders in Carmarthenshire are being encouraged to use their food waste bins to cut down on the amount of black bags we send to landfill. New figures from the Welsh Government show that homes in Carmarthenshire could produce an estimated 10,000 tonnes of food waste each year. Despite Wales being the first country in the UK where all local councils collect food waste and almost every household in Wales now having a food waste bin, an estimated 30% of our food waste still goes into black bags. Carmarthenshire County Council and Waste Awareness Wales are now urging householders to use their food waste bins to reduce the amount of food waste going to landfill and ensure Wales continues to lead the way on recycling. Director of Technical Servicers Richard Workman said: “Separating food waste from your regular black bin waste is easy. All food types are accepted, including meat and fish both cooked and uncooked, fruit and vegetable peelings, dairy products, bread, cakes and pastries...

Rubbish collections across Carmarthenshire were disrupted this week as many council staff took part in a one-day strike over pensions. Residents who usually had their rubbish collected on Wednesdays were advised not to put them out on Wednesday. However, some householders have put their rubbish out as usual. They are now being advised to take their blue/black bags back in until their next blue/black bag collection week. The four black bag limit will be temporarily suspended for those residents affected and they will be able to put out a maximum of eight black bags on Wednesday, December 14. Green food bins can be put the following week as normal. Residents can dispose of/recycle their waste at one of the county’s five household waste recycling centres at Trostre ( Llanelli); Wernddu, (Ammanford); Nantycaws, (Carmarthen); Whitland and Llangadog. There are also more than 150 recycling banks sites throughout the county. To find your nearest or for further information visit www.carmarthens...

Food waste from the plates of council officers has been turned into compost to use in County Hall planters! Council offices have been separating their food waste so that it can be turned into compost instead of going to landfill. The pilot project saw approximately half a tonne of leftover food collected from each of the buildings taking part over the course of a year. Just like the food collected from our homes, it is taken to a special processing plant at Nantycaws where it is turned into compost to be used in our gardens and to brighten up council offices across the county. Merlin’s Magic Compost is available to buy at the Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) in Trostre (Llanelli); Wernddu (Ammanford); Nantycaws (Carmarthen) and Whitland. The composting plant; along with the HWRCs, are operated on behalf of the council by CWM Environmental. Director John Rees said: “We are very pleased to be producing this compost from both food and garden waste and it has proven to very ...

Residents in Carmarthenshire are being warned not to use plastic bags in their green food bins – or they could be left behind. Approximately 75,000 households now benefit from a weekly food waste recycling collection to stop it going to landfill. However, householders are being reminded to only use compostable liners (this includes both paper and starch liners) in their green bins or use newspaper or kitchen towel to wrap their food/line the bins. Just look out for the compost logo or reference number EN13432 to tell if they are suitable. Plastic or biodegradable bags should not be used because any plastic would contaminate the food which could result in the whole vehicle load going to landfill. The council’s refuse/recycling crews have been instructed to tag and leave behind any green bins with plastic/biodegradable bags in them. Dealing with our food waste is a priority as it makes up 30 per cent of the waste we needlessly throw away to landfill. When we throw food away in a black ba...