TWO former international sportsmen have teamed up to launch a new commercial food waste collection service in Dorset.
Simon Heaps, a former England international table tennis player, and Andy Jones, an ex-Welsh international footballer, are directors of Eco Food Recycling Ltd.
They are targeting schools, colleges, hospitals, restaurants, pubs and canteens in Bournemouth and the surrounding area.
The food waste, which previously would have gone to landfill, will instead be transported to Eco Sustainable Solutions Ltd at Parley where, initially, it will be converted to compost. The companies are not connected.
Mr Heaps said Eco Food Recycling Ltd, based at St Leonards, offered a “100 per cent eco friendly recycling service.”
He added: “Currently the majority of commercial food waste is taken to landfill sites where it rots and produces methane - a powerful greenhouse gas that is 25 times more damaging than carbon dioxide.
“The food waste collected by Eco Food Recycling will be converted into compost within Dorset, satisfying moral and environmental issues and enabling our clients to significantly reduce their carbon footprint.”
Mr Jones said that early response to the new company – which has the slogan ‘For a Greener Future’ - had been “very encouraging.”
“We have high hopes for the business,” he added.
According to the Government-funded WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), a total of 8.3 million tonnes of food waste is thrown out by households alone each year.
It estimates that if the UK stopped wasting food and drink that could have been eaten it could prevent at least 20 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions each year.
Read more about Eco Food Recycling in their feature in the Waste Disposal section
