New food recycling service to go ahead in Daventry and Northampton
More than 120,000 households across Northampton and Daventry will be able to recycle all their food waste through a new service being launched by Northampton Borough Council and Daventry District Council this month.
Food waste – leftovers, out-of-date food and other food waste - accounts for around 30% of the refuse sent to landfill in Northamptonshire. Now, every home in the Northampton borough and Daventry district will be able to put out their food waste out for a weekly collection on their regular recycling day.
Every household will receive two food waste bins:
- A small caddy that can be kept in the kitchen and filled with waste that can be emptied into the outdoor bin
- A larger, 23 litre bin with a lockable lid that can be kept outdoors
Bin deliveries will begin on 16 January and the first food collection will take place on 23 January. The service will then be gradually phased in between January and March, with each household receiving their bins a week before the service begins in their area.
The food bin can be lined with newspaper or compostable corn starched liners, that are available in shops. It has a lockable lid that keeps smells in, pests out and prevents spillage.
Both Councils would like every household in the area to recycle their food waste to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, where it rots and produces methane, which contributes to climate change. It will also reduce the amount of landfill tax the county has to pay.
Food waste collected as part of the new service will be recycled at an anaerobic digestion plant where it will be turned into electricity and fertiliser.
Information booklets will be distributed house to house in early January to explain more about the service. They will also include the 2012 waste and recycling collection calendar.
Some households will also have a change to their collection day. Changes are as a result of customer feedback and will introduce a more consistent and streamlined service in areas where, for example, a single street or village has two collection days.
A weekly doorstep textile collection is also being introduced from the week beginning 16 January.
Cllr David Mackintosh, Leader of Northampton Borough Council, said that the new food waste collection is good news for local people and for the environment: "Food waste is the smelliest element of most people’s bins and now we will be collecting it every week. This is a real step forward that gives us all a chance to prevent thousands of tonnes of waste being sent to landfill in our county each year. We can now recycle that waste in a productive way.
"We will also be able to see how much food we waste and be able to do something to save the money that is costing us too. I really hope everyone will take advantage of this opportunity and give the new service a try.”
Cllr Chris Millar, Leader of Daventry District Council, said: "We are always striving to improve the recycling service we provide to residents and weekly food waste and textile collections are a natural progression as we look at further ways to divert our waste from landfill.
"It’s thanks to our residents that we already have a national reputation for embracing change and innovation in waste and recycling and we urge them to use this new service and again reap the environmental benefits.”
For more information, visit www.northampton.gov.uk or www.daventrydc.gov.uk
Posted by: Northampton Borough Council
