The council currently holds a collection contract with Serco, agreed in 2012, which is set to end in 2024. The government has also said separate food waste collections will be mandatory from 2023.
Around 2,300 households in the Southfields area are being invited to take place in the scheme.
Those who decide to take part will be given food caddies which will be emptied weekly as part of the borough’s normal waste and recycling collection service.
Currently, around 25,000 tonnes of food waste is collected from the borough each year through residual waste, which is sent to Cory’s Belvedere energy from waste (EfW) facility.
Homes in the Southfields Grid test area are being written to this week outlining the scheme’s details and how households can take part in the trial.
Given the high cost of investment to bring this forward, it is important that we study the results of the pilot and work out what works best for our residents.
- Cllr Steffi Sutters
‘Tough targets’
The council’s environment spokesman Cllr Steffi Sutters explained that the council is proceeding with a “limited” pilot scheme to begin with to see “how well it works” and whether there are “participation barriers”.
He said: “The council has set itself some tough environmental targets to reduce its carbon emissions and become a carbon neutral council by 2030 and a zero-carbon authority by 2050.This means we are examining and evaluating everything we do to see what changes we need to make to achieve these ambitious targets.
“Lessons already learned in other boroughs are that although these schemes can work well initially, the amount collected tends to tail off quite significantly over time. Given the high cost of investment to bring this forward, it is important that we study the results of the pilot and work out what works best for our residents.”
Recycling rate
The trial comes as the council looks to improve its recycling rate under its future contract.
Currently, the borough has a recycling rate of 23%, according to Defra’s 2019/21 local authority waste and recycling statistics.
Subscribe for free