Did you know the most commonly disposed of food items are potatoes, bread, apples and salads?
UK domestic households – you and me – throw away 6.7m tonnes of food every year and it’s become a really hot potato (pun intended!). Not that the recycling of kitchen waste is a new issue: since as early as 1915, food waste has been considered worthy of social and media concern. It was even used in the war effort to feed the nation’s pigs!
Recently the Government announced regulation to stop councils fining consumers for putting the wrong waste in the wrong bin. There is no doubt that many families are trying to ‘do their bit for the environment’ and, yes, we all need to do more. But surely the best way to encourage recycling is to place the solution in the place where most of it is created? Perhaps, instead of penalising consumers for trying their best, local government should become even more creative in persuading families to recycle as much as they can and go to the source of the issue – the kitchen.
In having nowhere else to store it, many families dump their recycling items on worktops – creating potential safety issues where glass is concerned – until somebody gets fed up with the mess and gets around to putting it in the outside bins or other containers, often found in in the garage or utility room.
Kitchen recycling bins have been around for a while but are still one of the accessories we’re most asked to include in our designs as people take the opportunity to build in the convenience of being able to sort their waste when they’re redesigning their kitchen. In unit slide out designs that use a whole base unit and can store double, triple and even quadruple bins with different size chambers so that you can sort waste by size (plastics need a bigger bin than compostables!) and reduce the amount of emptying you have to do. Larger sizes – up to 60L – with different bins for each type of waste are available and are becoming increasingly popular. And, if you’re worried about nasty niffs, many come with airtight lids containing charcoal filters to keep your kitchen smelling fresh!
If you’d like to discuss our range of kitchen recycling bins that can free up your worktops, keep the kids’ safe and help you feel good about the impact you’re having for little effort or any other aspect of your requirements, we’d be delighted to discuss your project, however big or small and whatever your budget.
For more information about Nicholas Hythe Kitchens please telephone 01480 468598 or email us at info@nicholashythe.co.uk
For hundreds of pictures of kitchens we’ve installed for delighted clients please go to www.facebook.com/NicholasHytheKitchenDesignStudio
