STOP wasting food and you can both save money and do your bit to help cut greenhouse gases.

That’s the message from Fenland District Council, which is encouraging residents to cut down on the amount of food they throw away and to use their brown composting bins for any leftovers, including meat and fish.

Councillor Peter Murphy, FDC’s portfolio holder for the environment and chairman of the RECAP partnership, said: “Everyone wins by reducing the amount of food they waste.

“On average everyone in the country throws away 70 kilos of food each year. That’s equivalent to �190 per person per year.

“Avoiding all that waste could also reduce greenhouse emissions as much as taking 20 per cent of cars off the road.

“By doing simple things like keeping fruit and veg in the fridge, and freezing extra packs, we can all save money and help the environment.”

The waste from the brown bins is made into soil improver, available free to Fenland residents at the Amey-Cespa waste transfer station in Melbourne Avenue, March.

Caddy bins and liners are available from the Fenland @ your service shops to help people collect food waste more easily. Alternatively, just use newspaper.

For more information about reducing waste, visit http://www.fenland.gov.uk/article/5288/ or www.lovefoodhatewaste.co.uk