SCOTS are being reminded this week that – as Marty McFly and the Doc discovered in Back to the Future – food waste can be transformed into a sustainable fuel to help protect the planet

Environmental organisation Zero Waste Scotland is using this year’s Recycle Week, which runs until Sunday, to raise awareness of the potential energy that can be captured by simply placing peelings, egg shells, tea bags and any uneaten produce in household food recycling caddies. The time-travelling DeLorean used in the classic 1980s movie was modified to run on food waste and the technology now exists to use it today to power vehicles, heat our homes and grow more food.

The National: It might not generate 1.21 Gigawatts of power, but correctly sorting food waste will reduce methane emissionsIt might not generate 1.21 Gigawatts of power, but correctly sorting food waste will reduce methane emissions

Estimates from Zero Waste Scotland reveal that 25,160 tonnes of global warming CO2 equivalent gas would be saved from entering the environment if everyone in Scotland with access to a food caddy recycled their tea bags.

“Disposing of this total of 6720 tonnes of material properly would be the equivalent of removing 13,349 cars from UK roads every year or 3812 flights around the world.

“When sent to landfill, food waste releases methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term.

Zero Waste Scotland chief executive Iain Gulland said: “It wasn’t just fantasy when the Doc and Marty were discovering how they could power the DeLorean to time travel. They hit upon an idea that more than 30 years later could make a significant difference in how we combat the climate emergency.”