Croydon to roll-out food waste service to flats

The roll-out of the food waste collection follows the launch of the service to households in the borough in October 2011, which in 14 weeks has seen more than 3,000 tonnes of food waste collected and sent to be treated at an anaerobic digestion plant.

It is hoped the service will help the council meet its target of diverting 12,000 tonnes of food waste from landfill this year and increase the boroughs current recycling rate of 32% to 44%.

Croydons waste is collected by Veolia as part of a 14-year refuse collection and recycling contract with the council.

As part of the service each flat will receive a seven litre kitchen caddy and a lockable food waste container for outside. They will also receive an orange recycling bag, to aid the existing recycling service, which is designed to allow residents living in flats to collate their dry recyclables – including paper, glass, cans and plastic before taking them to a communal collection point.

Funding

The provision of the bags is part of a London-wide project launched by the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWaRB) which will provide London councils with a share of a 5 million funding pot to improve recycling services to residents living in flats and high-rise buildings in the capital (see letsrecycle.com story).

Commenting on the service Councillor Phil Thomas, cabinet member for environment and highways at Croydon council, said: Our commitment to seeing as much of our waste as possible is recycled goes up a notch with this latest initiative, which has been funded, at no cost to Croydon, by Londons Mayor.

He added: Its important that we, as a borough, continue to cut down on the amount of our waste that goes to landfill, and increase the amount thats recycled. Everybody has to play their part and, with these new recycling bags, were doing our best to make it as easy as possible for people living in flats, for whom recyclings maybe not been quite so easy in the past.

Schools

Residents living in flats arent the only ones to benefit from a new service as five primary schools in the borough are also set to take part in a 12-week food waste trial. If successful the council hopes to expand the service to schools across the borough.

Councillor Phil Thomas said: If we can get the kids completely behind the recycling message, theyll take that message home and help to educate those parents that are still not quite realising that we will all benefit.