Around 40,000 homes in Eastmoor and Northfield will have their food waste collected separately every week from January, the council has confirmed, the biggest expansion of the service since a small trial began in Millbrook three years ago. Each household will be given a five-litre kitchen caddy, a supply of compostable liners and a lockable 23-litre bin for the kerbside.
The waste will go to an anaerobic digestion plant on the edge of Eastmoor, where bacteria break it down in sealed tanks to produce biogas. The gas is burned to generate electricity, and the remaining material is spread as fertiliser on farmland in the Asher Valley. The council estimates that each tonne diverted from general waste saves around €90 in disposal costs.
Analysis of household bins in the two districts found that nearly a third of the contents by weight was food, much of it peelings, tea bags and leftovers, but also unopened packets past their date. Councillor Samuel Achterberg, who leads on the environment, said the first goal was to stop that waste going to landfill, but the second was to help people waste less in the first place.
When people see how much goes into the caddy each week, many of them start buying a bit less. That is the best result of all.
Lessons from Millbrook
In the Millbrook trial, around seven in ten households took part regularly once the service had settled in, and the amount of general rubbish collected fell by about a fifth. Residents there asked for sturdier bins after foxes tipped over early versions, and the new design includes a locking handle for that reason.
Flats with shared bins will receive larger communal containers, and the council is working with housing associations on where to place them. Collection crews will check bins for plastic and other items that cannot be processed and leave a note rather than taking contaminated waste.
Leaflets and caddies will be delivered over the next six weeks. Residents who do not want the service can opt out, and anyone who needs a replacement caddy or extra liners can request one through the council's website or by calling the customer contact centre.