Somerset residents are being encouraged to give their bins faces in order to encourage more food waste to be recycled.

The Somerset Waste Partnership will be sending stickers to every household in Somerset in the weeks ahead as part of its ‘Slim My Waste, Feed My Face’ campaign.

The partnership hopes hundreds of thousands of pounds can be saved each year as a result – as well as allowing more renewable energy to be generated.

Starting in Mendip, then sweeping south and west, Slim My Waste, Feed My Face teams will give every household’s rubbish bin a bright yellow tape measure round it its middle, a “no food waste” notice on top, and deliver each home an information pack on why food recycling is so important.

Stickers in each Slim My Waste pack means every resident can decorate their bin to give it a new face and personality as a happy “feed my face” hint about recycling all waste food.

All food waste – raw, cooked, fresh or “off”, meat, fish, fruit or veg, pasta, cereal, bread and all plate scrapings – can be recycled every week, wrapped in newspaper or compostable bags.

Slim My Waste, Feed My Face has already proved a big hit in Bristol, which saw a jump in food waste recycling.

SWP managing director Mickey Green said: “This fun campaign has a very serious aim; while Somerset families recycle a lot, any food in rubbish bins is a very costly waste of a valuable resource.

“We are confident that this campaign will have a big impact, recycling thousands of tonnes of food waste, reducing our carbon emissions and saving hundreds of thousands of pounds.

“No amount is too small – recycling six tea bags produces enough electricity to boil a kettle for another cuppa.”

Somerset Waste Partnership say there is still plenty more to do as the average Somerset rubbish bin still has too much food waste, which is the worst material to be sent to costly and wasteful landfill, especially as it decays to produce powerful climate change gases.

For about half the cost of landfill, all food waste can be recycled in Somerset by the anaerobic digestion plant near Bridgwater into electricity to power homes and nutrient-rich farm compost to grow more food.

For more information see somersetwaste.gov.uk/slimmywaste.