The food digester package, supplied by Green Cone Ltd, normally costs 66.90 but is being offered free of charge by the council when collected from a designated pick up point. The council has said that there is a 10 charge if people want one delivered to their homes.
Commenting on the composters, County councillor Frank Wilkinson said: “They are incredibly easy to use and I am sure they will come into their own at a time like Christmas when an awful lot of food ends up in the dustbin.”
The digester is able to cope with the bones in meat so the wasted turkey doesn't need to be stripped to be recycled, the council said. Details on the service have been included in the council's waste prevention booklet For Better Tomorrows, which has been delivered across the county.
The starter pack comes with a pack of powder to accelerate the breakdown process during the colder months. A food caddy is also supplied with the digester. The caddy can be placed in the kitchen to collect the waste before it is taken outside to be recycled.
The giveaway comes as part of a successful bid by the county council to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for 1.5 million over the next two years.
Cllr Wilkinson said: “We hope to give away 50,000 food waste digesters over the next two years as part of a major drive to cut the amount of waste that has to be landfilled.
“Landfill is not a sustainable option, the cost is increasing all the time and new restrictions on the amount of waste that can be disposed of by this method are also coming into force. People who use the digesters will be playing a major role in helping the environment as well as reducing costs,” he added.
West Sussex sent 390,000 tonnes to landfill in 2001/02. Under the Landfill Allowance schemes it has to reduce this amount to 257,000 tonnes in 2005/06 and 179,000 tonnes in 2010. West Sussex hopes that the waste digester scheme will help to bring this figure down.
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