IT’S BEEN in the headlines again about the UK’s waste going overseas. We are left wondering why we should spend time separating it and putting it in the right bins.

Each local authority makes its own contract for waste collection; contracts vary throughout the country and some counties do not have as good a contract as we have.

Our green bins are sent to a centre in London, where everything is separated mechanically then, finally, by hand.

What little is left is incinerated. The contents of the grey bin go to the incinerator at Ardley where it is burnt to produce electricity.

Our food waste is collected separately and goes to the anaerobic digester at Benson, where it makes electricity for the grid and the left-over solid material makes great fertiliser for local farmers to use.

It’s worthwhile spending those few minutes following the correct bins for your waste; especially food waste: please don’t think a wee bit in the green bin won’t make any difference because it can contaminate the lorry’s whole load, which may have to be discarded as waste.

That costs the district council money, costs passed on to us in our council tax bill.

So do rinse tins, jars, food trays, etc, before putting them in the green bin.

It is estimated the average family of four in Oxfordshire throws away about £60 of food each month.

Imagine the savings to the Council and us if less food waste is created.

Menu-planning helps reduce food waste and reduce your shopping bill.

Just remember there is no ‘away’ when you discard something: ‘away’ just means you have moved it to become someone else’s problem.

Try local repair cafes, like the one Sustainable Wallingford ran recently, to have things repaired rather than throwing them away.

To double-check which bins to use, go to southoxon.gov.uk and click on Binzone. Type the item and it will tell you which bin to use. Everything from window envelopes to clean black food trays in the green bin.

Doing this, you will soon remember what goes where.

You can also check where recycling goes here at southoxon.gov.uk/node/18939.

Most importantly, out of the three Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), the one many people overlook is to Reduce. That simply means buy less of everything. Consider, do you really need it when shopping?

l Let us know what topics you would like covered: sw@sustainablewallingford.org