10th June 2008
Food waste, the next step
In a bid to increase their recycling rates, Oldham Council is further expanding its food waste collection trial. Following a successful pilot scheme, the Council is set to rollout more than 80,000 of Straight's 23 litre Kerbside Caddies.
The Council will initially roll out 20,000 of the containers in August 2008. A further 20,000 Kerbside Caddies will be delivered in three separate phases over the course of 12 months.
The 23 litre Kerbside Caddy has been purposely designed for food waste collections and has the added benefit of being manufactured in the UK, therefore dramatically reducing the environmental impact of the product as well as the cost of freight. Mark Husdan, Waste Minimisation and Recycling Manager for Oldham Council comments, "The 23 litre Kerbside Caddy is a product that matches our commitment to provide quality recycling facilities to our residents. The fact that the product is manufactured in Burnley, less than 30 miles from Oldham, was a key factor and provided a great incentive in our product choice by reducing the product's carbon footprint."
The 23 litre Kerbside Caddy incorporates several features as standard, including a reinforced hinged locking lid to ensure spillage is avoided and a tough one-piece carry handle enabling easy lifting. The Caddy's textured and sloped base provides a practical tipping handle for collection crews when emptying and the smooth, wipe clean interior prevents any dirt traps.
The new scheme is the first borough wide food waste collection to be introduced in Greater Manchester. Oldham Council hopes that the new scheme will encourage resident participation, increase recycling rates and help to reduce landfill charges. Oldham currently recycles 20% of all waste collected. However, the Council anticipates an increase once the food waste collection is rolled out.
Mark Husdan continues, "The expansion of the pilot scheme to the rest of the borough is crucial in order to improve recycling rates in the area. Participation rates for the trial were high at 65% and general feedback from residents has been extremely positive. We are confident that once the scheme is fully implemented, we will see a good increase in our recycling rate, helping us to meet our recycling target of 30% for 2010."
With UK households wasting 6.7 million tonnes of food each year and food waste accounting for over 30% of the average household bin, Oldham believes that targeting food waste is definitely the next step for other local authorities.
Mark Husdan adds, "Food waste recycling has an important role to play in helping Britain meet its international obligations. Our food waste scheme is one of the most important collections that we provide next to our garden waste collection. Once collected, all food waste is sent for composting, a simple and natural process. The end result is a useful and organic bi-product."
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