Birmingham's recycling rate is notoriously among the lowest in the country - for 2016/17 it was around 25%, and for last year (2017/18) it had dropped to just 20% of all waste collected being recycled. 

The Birmingham Waste Strategy 2017-2040 acknowledges this a problem, and admits that there are huge issues with food waste. However, they believe that education is a more valuable investment than the introduction of a food waste system. 

This is not only a household issue but a commercial one too. Think of the extraordinary amount of restaurants and pubs and takeaways in the UK's second city. There is no doubt that the food waste coming from these establishments is astronomical, and the introduction of a food waste system would allow for a huge amount of that waste to be recycled. 

Introducing food waste bins would allow for a huge proportion of the contents of bin bags to be recycled, composted and used more valuably. 48% of the average rubbish bag in Birmingham is food waste. Food waste is inevitable and food waste bins would allow people to recycle scraps and leftovers.  Education, while still hugely necessary, only encourages people to reduce their initial purchases of food, and their unavoidable food waste will still end up in landfill. 

We are failing Birmingham and we are failing the planet - there is no time to do nothing.