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A third of all the food that we buy ends up being thrown away - whilst some of this is tea bags and fish bones, most is perfectly good food that would have been eaten.

In Wales we buy, and then waste around £600 million on food that could have been eaten. That’s an average of £420 per household per year and for households with children it’s even more at around £610 a year.

By recycling your food waste you will reduce the amount of food in landfill sites. Rotting food in landfill produces methane gas which contributes to climate change and, as the cost of sending food waste to landfill is increasing, you will help the Councils and its residents save money too.

In Wales we throw away a staggering 410,000 tonnes of food and drink each year. 90% of us don’t realise how much food we throw away.

Current research suggests that about 40% (by weight) of the food thrown away that could have been eaten is fresh fruit and vegetables.

If we stopped wasting all this food, we could prevent enough carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions each year that would equate to taking 1 in 5 cars off Welsh roads.

Wales produces enough waste to fill the Millennium Stadium every 20 days. Our greatest challenge is to see this waste as a resource. Everything we throw away contains valuable materials and the potential to generate energy.