From Food to Fuel --- Ellee Seymour

Sainsbury's is to stop dumping thousands of tons of waste food at landfill sites and will instead use it to generate its own electricity by converting it into methane gas. This gas will be used to provide light and heat for its stores.

What concerns me about this is the quality of wasted food they are throwing out, that they are forced to dump good food because of sell-by dates.

Is any of this food offered to homeless organisations, or families and pensioners living in poverty? Could we not have social network groups which collects left over supermarket food at the end of the day, let them take anything for free if it still looks edible rather than dump it.

At present, Sainsbury's sends a whopping 60,000 tons of food waste to landfill every year from its 800 stores. It has been forced to consider alternatives because of soaring landfill tax costs; it presently stands at £30 a ton, but is set to rise to £38 next year and to £46 in 2010. It will cost them an extra £1 million in the next two years.

As well as recycling its waste food, Sainsbury's also plans to recycle all of its 20,000 tons of non-food waste, including metal, plastic and paper packaging. From next year, Sainsbury's intends to become the first leading British retailer not to send any waste to landfill sites.

Yes, I know Sainsbury's is being very proactive and responsible. But please don't throw out good food. I notice how the reduced food shelf always has a flock of people pushing each other out the way to grab a bargain. I hate to think of good food ending up at landfill or in an anaerobic digester plant.

Posted at Elle Seymour