Published on: Friday, 27 April 2018
Last updated: Friday, 27 April 2018
A new initiative to recycle food waste at Cambridge rail station has saved enough carbon to cover 13 flights from London to Paris.
Shops and food outlets at the station have worked with Greater Anglia to recycle food waste since August 2017.
The amount of carbon saved – over half a tonne – is the equivalent to planting two trees.
Victoria Tripp, Greater Anglia’s Station Presentation Manager, said: “Our team has worked with retailers and food outlets at Cambridge station to encourage them to recycle more of their food waste.
“We are very pleased with the results so far and would like to thank all of the businesses at the station which have worked with our station presentation inspector, Krzysztof Drozd, to make this a success.
“At Greater Anglia we are committed to reducing our impact on the planet and this is just one of the steps we are taking to make our business more environmentally-friendly.”
Food waste was previously not recycled, but now it is placed in designated bins at the station.
It is treated by anaerobic digestion – a process whereby food is processed and produces a form of gas which is captured to produce energy and heat. Any residual waste can be used for composting.
The recycling initiative is now being rolled out to Norwich railway station and Greater Anglia’s Stratford Academy.
If these trials prove successful, the scheme could be rolled out across the Greater Anglia network.