Look out for your food waste container

Residents across the Bath & North East Somerset Council area today (Monday 20th September) started receiving two food waste containers so that households can participate in the Council’s weekly food waste recycling collection service starting 4th October 2010. 74,000 sets of containers will be delivered with a start-up supply of compostable caddy liners and a full guidance leaflet.

 

Councillor Charles Gerrish (Conservative, Keynsham North), Cabinet Member for Service Delivery, said, “Residents will be receiving their two food waste containers over the coming days. If anyone knows a neighbour is away at the time of delivery, the Council is encouraging them to take in the bins until they return. When talking to local people, I get the sense the message is getting through. The less waste we send to landfill the more money is saved because the Council pays less landfill tax. Less methane is produced meaning the community is tackling the causes and effects of climate change.”

 

Simon Porter, Contract Manager at May Gurney said: ‘We’re very much looking forward to working with residents on the weekly food waste collection service. From May Gurney’s experience of delivering recycling services to more than 2.2 million households across the UK we’re confident that this new initiative will not only help to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill but we've also discovered that when residents actually see how much food they throw away, they generate around 25% less waste, so save on their weekly food bills’.

 

The food waste collected will be sent to a specialist indoor composting facility in Sharpness, Gloucestershire and made into nutrient-rich high quality compost for agricultural land.

 

How to participate in food waste collections

 

Every household that has access to the green box recycling collection service will be able to use the new service. The Council has produced a short hints and tips video on food waste participation with the help of local resident Lin Patterson. It can be viewed at www.bathnes.gov.uk/foodwaste

 

The containers can be used to recycle cooked and raw food waste every week, including scrapings from their plates. The smaller kitchen caddy can be lined with a compostable liner, newspaper or brown paper. Please don’t use plastic bags or magazines.

 

The liners need to be tied up and regularly put into the larger outside food waste bin – this is the lockable bin which is secure from animals and birds. This bin can be put out for weekly collection, on the same day as all the other recycling and waste.

 

Find out more

 

If residents do not receive their new containers before the start of the collection on Monday 4 October contact Council Connect on councilconnect@bathnes.gov.uk or call 01225 39 40 41 or Text SMS 07797 806545.