5 weeks to new food waste collection

Food waste will be used to produce clean electricity and a liquid fertiliser

We’re now just five weeks away from the start of Cherwell District Council’s new weekly food waste collection service. From March 1 food waste should no longer be placed in the existing brown bins, but instead left in a new 23-litre outdoor food waste caddy. These are being delivered across the district between now and the start of the scheme.

The food caddies will be emptied on a weekly basis with the collection day identified by a hanger which will be attached to a customer’s existing bins.

Councillor Dan Sames, Lead Member for Clean and Green, said: “Tough government targets for dealing with food waste mean that we are having to move to collect food waste on a weekly basis. This will offer greater convenience to us as residents as well as increasing recycling rates across the district.

“From March, the food waste will be treated in a different way to how it was treated with garden waste. It will go to an anaerobic digestion plant in Cassington where it will produce clean methane that is burnt to create a clean source of electricity and fed into the national grid. A by-product of this process is a rich liquid fertiliser that can be used on farm fields to help grow more food, so starting the food cycle all over again.”

Cherwell’s current recycling rate stands at 55 per cent. As the council looks to improve upon this recycling more food waste is a key target. Currently, as much as three quarters of the food waste produced is going into the residual (green) waste bin.

Electricity generated by food waste collected from Cherwell households could run 9,000 fridge-freezers, or power a TV in every household in the district for 15 hours a week.

The ‘digestate,’ or liquid fertilizer, produced by people’s food waste will be distributed to local famers and can replace petrochemical fertilisers.

Existing brown garden waste bins will stop being emptied from March 1, unless the resident has purchased the new garden waste collection service. So far 11,000 people have already signed-up, taking advantage of a reduced early bird charge of £36 for the first year. The discount is available until February 28.