Context

It is estimated that over 80% of our household food waste is effectively ‘lost’ to incineration, landfill, or simply flushed into our sewers. Enrich the Earth is a coalition of organisations campaigning to rethink how we handle this food and garden waste and highlight the opportunities of turning it into nutrient-rich compost to reduce reliance on chemical fertilisers and peat, improve soils, and reduce emissions. 

Our activity

Seahorse has been supporting Enrich the Earth to urge the UK Government to make it easier for food waste to be composted rather than sent to landfill or turned into biogas through anaerobic digestion. A bold approach to utilise food, garden, and other waste streams could produce millions of tonnes of compost annually, reducing peat use and securing a homegrown nutrient supply for crops. 

Our impact

Over the past six months, Seahorse has conducted in-depth research and interviews to shape the campaign's policy position and earned the trust and support of a cross-sector range of stakeholders, including farmers, businesses and NGOs. 

Looking ahead to the UK’s circular economy strategy, we will now be working with Enrich the Earth to capitalise on this momentum and ensure that policy makers fully grasp both the challenges and significant opportunities that utilising biowaste derived compost can bring for nature, food security, and the economy.