Is this the recycling solution to the UK’s 7.3 million tonne food waste problem

Do you recycle? Do you own a composter? It's a rubbish topic but sometimes we need to talk trash because there's no denying food wastage is a huge problem. And as a nation we need to tackle it sooner rather than later. The latest statistics from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) reveal that the UK has stalled its efforts to cut food waste, with 7.3 million tonnes of food ending up in landfill in 2015.

The environmental impact would be the equivalent of removing one in four cars off the road.

We are far more conscious of recycling our food packaging, rather than the food itself. And if we do bother to deal with our scraps, the solution is often a bin that becomes a hotbed of germs and odour after even one family mealtime.

What can we do about it you may be asking? The new Smart Cara composter could be a better solution – storing up to 1kg of food waste that at the touch of a button becomes an odourless, soil-enhancing powder.

The inoffensive counter-top appliance can banish the smelliest of fish heads or mouldy cheese by removing all elements of moisture and grinding food particles  into a neat, odourless powder. The powder can then be used as a rejuvenating fertiliser to put nutrients directly back into the soil, or alternatively it can be recycled into solid fuel, suitable for wood-burners and campfires.

But how can a machine that uses electricity help the environment, we hear you ask? Well it runs on low energy, so it's not expensive to run and with such a large capacity, doesn't have to be used everyday. The mechanism used to grind the food isn't noisy nor does it require any installation – simply plug in and fill Cara with food scraps until she's full. Once switched on, Cara gets to work quietly, with an average cycle taking around three hours. When she's done, the cast-iron inner barrel can be easily removed to dispose of the organic waste.

Smart Cara boasts to reduce leftovers to just 10% of their original volume and decrease annual carbon emissions by 425kg per household – the environmental equivalent of plant three trees. With a Smart Cara composter you'll not only be reducing your carbon footprint and easing the landfill impact, but also saving on both bin bags and compost.

Make more of your waste: How to start a compost pile – feed your garden for free

Smart Cara isn't cheap at £399, but think about the overall cost. We did the maths and it's £1.09 a day for a year, but think of the value of not wasting so much food or have smelly leftovers sitting out on the worktop. Definitely food for thought, eh?