New weekly food and garden waste collections
Published 25 August 2010
A pilot scheme to recycle food waste is to get underway in parts of Southwark
It's expected that the recycling trial, which will see around 10,000 homes in Southwark able to separate their food waste, will result in increased recycling rates and less rubbish going to landfill.
Residents have been asking the council about the possibility of recycling their food waste and this pilot is in response to these requests. It is also driven by the council's push to become a more efficient recycling authority.
Food and other recyclable goods currently fill up around two thirds of the Southwark resident's bin. The council is adjusting the weekly collections to ensure as much as possible of this is recycled in a way that is easy for residents and is not sent to landfil.
The six month pilot will start in October in wards in Dulwich, Camberwell, Nunhead, Peckham and Rotherhithe. The council will keep a close eye on its progress and welcomes residents feedback in order to make it as successful as possible.
The aim of the authority is to reduce the costly and environmentally damaging practice of sending waste, that could be recycled, to landfill.
How it works
Food waste will be separated in the kitchen into provided biodegradable bags and then added to the secure garden waste (brown) recycling container. This will be collected weekly.
Dry recyclables, such as paper, card, glass and tins (blue bins & boxes) will get collected as normal, weekly.
The small amount of leftover rubbish, such as unrecyclable packaging and crisp packets, will be collected on alternate weeks.
The overall frequency and number of collections from homes will not change.
