Expansion of food waste pilot could herald huge benefits for the borough.

Southwark Council's weekly food waste scheme is to be rolled out to all kerbside properties those that either face the street or have front gardens in the borough this autumn, following a successful pilot. 

Figures from the trial, carried out in 10,000 homes, by the council's recycling and waste partners, Veolia Environmental Services, indicate that the expansion could boost the borough's recycling rate by as much as 5%, from just over 25% to over 30%*. 

These residents will also be given a recycling wheelie bin instead of a box and bag, which will be collected fortnightly instead of weekly. This will in effect give residents 33% more recycling space than before.  

This means the council can reduce the frequency of collections for recyclable waste such as glass, paper, card, plastics and tins without unduly inconveniencing residents. This reduction in collection frequency should allow the council to save £375,000 over three years. 

Another benefit includes putting all recycling into one container (commingling), making it easier for residents who will no longer have to sort their recyclable material. 

The council will also introduce, as part of the commingling, the recycling of tetrapaks, such as fruit juice cartons, which previously had to be taken to special drop off points in the borough. 

The council aims to introduce these improvements in October 2011. The decision to implement the changes was made on 6 June.  

Cllr Barrie Hargrove, cabinet member for transport, environment and recycling at Southwark Council, said: 

"This is a win, win, win for the borough - the response to our food waste pilot was overwhelmingly positive and well liked, so we expect it to prove popular in these additional homes; the expansion of it should boost our borough's recycling rates; and the introduction of wheelie bins gives residents more recycling space while making it easier to do. When we implement these changes in the autumn, we'll be taking a massive stride towards our goal of doubling the borough's recycling rate and that has to be a good thing." 

Simon Bussell, managing director for Veolia Environmental Services in Southwark added:  

"We have worked closely with Southwark Council to develop this scheme. It has been through considerable testing and feedback processes in the pilot area and we believe it will bring great benefits to the way that waste is handled in the borough. We fully support these developments and look forward to implementing the proposed improvements for residents."  

What are the changes?

Food and garden waste: The weekly food and garden waste collection is being introduced borough-wide for all street-based properties, about 47,000 homes in total. About two fifths of all residents will have the scheme. Estates are not affected. The changes will be introduced in October 2011. 

Recycling: We are providing a blue wheelie bin for residents' other recycling (paper, cardboard, glass, cans, plastics and now tetrapaks - a new addition) instead of a box and bag. It can now all be mixed together (commingling).  

We will empty the blue bin each fortnight. This will have more space than two weeks' worth of previous containers combined. (240 litres vs 180 litres). 

Waste: As in the food waste pilot, we will collect the remainder of residents' rubbish, which cannot be recycled, each fortnight, and food waste will be collected weekly. 

Trial feedback

As of 28 February 2011, a total of 1,300 responses to a survey of all 10,000 homes on the pilot had been registered through door to door, postal and online surveys: 

• 96% said that food waste recycling was a 'good idea'.
• 84% rated the new services as 'much better' or 'better'.

Case study

For an interview with a pilot case study, please call Darell Carey in the press office. 

*Anticipated recycling growth

The estimates are for annual growth, i.e. they give the anticipated impact on the recycling rate after the scheme has run for a complete year, from October 2011 to October 2012. 

When will this happen?

The decision to implement these changes was taken by Cllr Barrie Hargrove on June 6, with a view to introducing the changes in October 2011.