The Welsh council launched the year-long campaign, which aims to increase food waste recycling participation from the current level of 40%, in March (see letsrecycle.com story).
As part of the campaign, Caerphilly monitors households’ participation with food waste recycling. Each month, one participant is chosen at random and given £500 for their efforts.
The council has announced Aquilina Taylor, a resident of Abercarn, as the latest winner.
Cllr Chris Morgan, Caerphilly’s cabinet member for waste, leisure and green spaces, said: “Congratulations to Ms Taylor and all our previous winners. We are so happy to see another food waste recycler awarded for their contribution to the council’s commitment to reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases and thereby contributing to the national and global goals for decarbonisation.”
Caerphilly also said the campaign provided an opportunity to redistribute public funding back into the community during the cost-of-living crisis.
Caerphilly
Representing an estimated population of more than 175,000, Caerphilly county borough council had a household waste recycling rate of 62% in the 2020/21 financial year.
The council collects residents’ food waste weekly in a seven-litre caddy. According to statistics from the Welsh Government, Caerphilly recycled 11,884 tonnes of organic waste, including but not exclusively food, in 2020/21.
In doing so, the council avoided 654 tonnes of CO2 emissions and saved £1.3 million by not sending the material to landfill, the statistics show.
Caerphilly sent most of its organic waste to the Gelligaer-based Bryn Group, which operates an anaerobic digester, the Welsh Government says.
When launching Mash for Cash, the council said it received 50p per tonne of anaerobic digestion collected, “meaning the scheme can be self-sustaining as the increased tonnage of food waste collected will generate the winnings each month.”
Register for free to comment