Award-winning food waste trial could be expanded

Now, one year, on as the scheme continue to maintain low contamination rates, council leader Councillor Ken Hudson, has announced a waste services review which could see it expanded by 2009/10.

The pilot began in May 2005 and targeted 7,500 inner-city households, with support from the Lancashire Environmental Fund. Recycling officers engaged with local religious leaders and carried out a door-stepping campaign to get the recycling message across.

This cut contamination rates from 40 per cent contamination to 10 per cent within days of starting the scheme and eventually to a rejection rate of almost nothing by 2006 – an achievement which saw it triumph in the Awards for Excellence (see letsrecycle.com story).

This negligible rate is still maintained a year on and project officer David Stowe said: “We've got it down to such a minimum level that if crews find any, they just leave the waste behind and that reminds resident of what they should do. It's very rare that the crews need leaflets to leave behind and I can't remember the last time they asked for any.”

Best practice

The initiative appears to have been hailed as an example of best practice. Around 190 people have visited Preston to learn more about the collection scheme and Mr Stowe has been invited to give talks to London Remade and The Composting Association.

And the project officer has said that while councils have learned from Preston's success, they have also learned from its mistakes. For example, the city council carried out door-stepping after the scheme had been introduced and found four of 10 containers were rejected.

However, another council in Bedfordshire visited residents before the scheme was introduced which resulted in a four in 1,000 rejection rate.

Under Preston's trial, each house was issued with a seven litre kitchen caddy, two rolls of corn starch liner bags and a 25 litre outside container.

The food is collected by Preston city council on a weekly basis using a specially designed 7.5 tonne vehicle and when the trial began, SITA UK was processing the material into compost at its Ingol site.

Expansion 

But in May, TEG Environmental won a year-long contract to handle up to 10,000 tonnes of kitchen waste at its sites in West Yorkshire. Preston is presently sending around 400-460 a year for processing and it was felt this extra capacity could give it scope to expand the trial (see letsrecycle.com story).

And last week, council leader Councillor Ken Hudson asked for a review into the city's waste collection services particularly with a view to extending food waste collections.

A council spokesman said: “No decision has yet been made, and a report is now being prepared by the council's neighbourhood services department outlining the options.

“Given the success of the existing service the council is keen to extend the food waste recycling scheme to all properties across the city without a garden – around 15,000 in total. If this decision was taken, the council would be looking to secure external funding to help with this.”