A WIDNES recycling plant which turns waste food into fuel is supporting the homeless this Christmas.

ReFood on Desoto Road has pledged to donate 50 pence from every new bin collection to two homeless shelters.

They will be supporting the Whitechapel Centre in Liverpool and Barnabus in Manchester until January 31.

Employees will also be volunteering at the shelters, supporting the staff and helping to sort donations and serve meals. Trudi Derbyshire, regional sales manager for ReFood, said: “We’re delighted to be working closely with these two shelters this Christmas, ensuring homeless people in the north west are able to have access to hot food and shelter.

“Businesses can sign up to ReFood’s food waste collection services and help people in need.”

Ruth McCaughley, fundraising manager at the Whitechapel Centre said: “Support from companies such as ReFood is invaluable, not just at Christmas, but throughout the year and we hope this is the start of a long-term partnership between our two organisations.

“We’re delighted that the ReFood team is also going to be joining us in the day-to-day running of Whitechapel, where they will be helping us sort our donations into packages of toiletries, food and clothing to distribute to the homeless and rough sleepers in Liverpool.”

Restaurants, cafes, hotels and shops wishing to support the initiative by recycling food waste, visit refood.co.uk or call 0800 011 3214.