On average each household in London will throw out an extra five sacks of waste over this festive period, adding thousands of tonnes of additional waste to council tips or incinerators. Darren has tabled a formal question to the Mayor calling for a high profile campaign to reduce the amount food and other costly waste that ends up in London bins.
Darren Johnson said:
"Christmas should be a time of goodwill and celebration, not a feast of waste with overflowing dustbins stuffed with unnecessary packaging, food waste and unwanted presents. You can have fun without filling the house with unnecessary tat which will probably end up in the bin. With Londoners facing a credit crunch Christmas, the Mayor should be talking about doing more with less. It is good to recycle, but even better not to waste your money and the earth’s resources on things that really don’t give you, or others, much pleasure."
Examples of household waste:
*The disposal of cheap throwaway fashion clothing known as the ‘primark effect’ has resulted in textile waste making up 30% of council waste tips, up from 7% five years ago, made from synthetic fibres that are not easily recyclable."
*A third of the food we buy we throw away. Nearly one quarter of avoidable food waste is thrown away whole, untouched or unopened and translates to a loss of £420 for average UK family."