In October of last year Liverpool announced that it would be submitting a bid to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to gain financial support for new composting technology for kitchen waste (see letsrecycle.com story).
” We are working with various companies and Defra as we want to get a kitchen waste collection in operation as soon as possible “
– Liverpool city council
But, as of yet Liverpool has not been able to get the technology needed to provide the scheme so it is continuing talks with government and industry.
A spokeswoman for Liverpool council said: “We are working with various companies and Defra as we want to get a kitchen waste collection in operation as soon as possible. The kitchen waste is still on the agenda for this year but it has been put back a
Garden waste
In the mean time the council has begun rolling out a new garden waste scheme to its residents. Under the new scheme residents will be given sacks for their garden waste, which will be collected on a fortnightly basis alongside paper, glass, cans and textiles.
More than 90,000 homes will receive the green bags over the next couple of months. The waste collected will be taken to a horticulture farm in Kirkby where it will be treated and turned into compost.
Councillor Richard Oglethorpe, executive member for green issues, said: “Garden waste recycling is a simple, free service which will benefit the city's residents and will safeguard the environment for future generations.
“Liverpool city council is committed to increasing the number of materials and the amount we recycle. We are encouraging more residents to get into the recycling habit,” he added.
Bring sites
Liverpool council has also been in discussions with supermarkets in the area about adding more bring sites at their stores. The spokeswoman said: “Some of the stores have the space to easily fit the banks and we have gone to them and said let us use that space for recycling.
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“In 2003 we had 26 bring banks across the city, we currently have 150. We are impressed with this increase but will continue to fit banks in where we can,” she added.
Liverpool has been bottom of the recycling league table for the last two years, it achieved a recycling rate of 4% in 2003/04 but is aiming for 15% in 2005/06.
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