According to the local authority, around 90 tonnes more food waste has been collected per month compared to the same period last year since it began giving away rolls of 40 7-litre HDPE liners to 82,000 households free of charge in January.
Previously residents had been instructed only to use biodegradable caddy liners, which they would need to purchase themselves. Advice on the website of the council’s waste collection contractor Amey suggested that biodegradable liners cost upwards of £1.49 per roll.
The council had not previously provided householders with free of charge biodegradable liners, due to the cost involved.
Cromwell
Despite the authority having paid for the liners through a contract with Cromwell Polythene, it claims that distributing them to householders could result in a cost saving of £65,000 per year due to an increase in volumes of food waste captured through its weekly food waste collection service.
And, the cost of providing HDPE liners to householders is claimed to be significantly cheaper than using biodegradable material.
Although some local authorities and contractors will only accept food waste from householders in biodegradable or compostable liners, in recent months food waste treatment operators have called for flexibility from councils on using plastic bags (see letsrecycle.com story).
Compostable
letsrecycle.com spoke to a number of anaerobic digestion plant operators in January some of whom suggested that having strict rules on the use of plastic bags may deter householders from presenting their food waste for collection.
Food waste from Peterborough is sent to Biogen’s Westwood AD facility, where it is used for fertiliser and to generate power for the National Grid.
Speaking in January, Iain Pickles, local authority manager at Biogen told letsrecycle.com that his company’s plants, which accept food waste from local authorities, are equipped with advanced technology that is able to process waste in a range of packaging types, including plastic bags and liners.
Peterborough council recycling officer, Amy Nebel, said: “Providing Peterborough’s 82,000 homes with the Cromwell liners free of charge is a viable option as the price of standard liners is significantly cheaper than biodegradable. Although it is early days, we have already seen an increase in the region of 25% in February’s tonnage compared to the same period last year.”
Ms Nebel added: “As for other cost savings, these will come from the avoidance of landfill and energy from waste disposal costs, as well as a lower gate fee at the AD facility as a result of us capturing more food waste for processing through an incentive provided by Biogen.”
Castle Point
Last month Cromwell was also awarded a contract to supply Castle Point borough council with 1.5 million compostable waste sacks, made from Ecopond biodegradable resin, for which the company is the sole distributor in England and Wales.
38,000 households across Castle Point are to be supplied with compostable sacks which will be used to collect commingled garden and food waste, for treatment via in-vessel composting.
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