New bins for food waste to be rolled out

People in Derby are set to receive a new bin just for food waste this month, in preparation for new government legislation that will come into force this year.

The Environment Act 2021 means every local authority will need to carry out weekly collections of food waste from 31 March.

Derby City Council is set to deliver new outside bins and a smaller kitchen caddy to comply with the new legislation after it received a £2.7m grant from Defra.

Councillor Ndukwe Onuoha, cabinet member for streetpride, said the new bins would allow residents to see exactly how much food they threw away, which he believed would help cut food waste and therefore help residents save money.

"This is one of the biggest changes to our waste and recycling services in recent years," he added.

"By recycling food waste, households will benefit from more regular collections, as well as the feel-good factor from managing their waste more sustainably.

"At the same time, we will reduce harmful greenhouse gases, generate renewable energy and provide natural fertiliser for farming."

Research from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) shows food waste costs a four-person household about £1,000 per year in food bought, but not eaten., external

Catherine David, director of behaviour change and business programmes at WRAP, said: "Whilst food waste in our homes is lower than in 2007, this increase is a stark indication that there must be significant action, at scale, to tackle this problem.

"We waste 12% of the food that we buy with an average household of four throwing away £1,000 of good food each year."

The council has been recruiting more staff and has placed an order for 14 new lorries to collect the waste.

The authority will start to collect the new 40cm tall dark green bins in April.

All types of food can be recycled including leftovers, bones, dairy products, bread, fruit and vegetables.

Residents will also receive a light grey kitchen caddy for worktops to help collect their food waste and a leaflet that will explain how the new service will work.

"We collect at present about 50,000 tonnes of general waste yearly almost a third of that is food waste, but now we are going to separate it which means that residents are able to recycle more efficiently but also see how much food they're wasting," Onuoha added.

"Together, these everyday actions will add up to significant progress for Derby and our environment, as we continue to build a city we can all take pride in by keeping it clean and tidy, one street at a time."

The rollout of the new bins will start on Monday and the city council is aiming to have all the bins delivered by the time the scheme starts.

It comes after a Derby city councillor expressed fears last month that the disposal of food waste would cause a bad smell in his ward.

Councillor Jonathan Smale said the only existing anaerobic system in Derby was in his ward of Spondon, and he is concerned that it could release more "significant odours" into the community if added to.

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