Weekly Collections Must Segregate Food Waste ADBA
3 October 2011
With the news of a fund being made available for Local Authorities' being able to introduce a weekly waste collection service, ADBA (The Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association) has called for food waste to be segregated
Commenting on Eric Pickles' announcement of a £250m fund to support councils returning to weekly bin collections, ADBA Chairman and Lib Dem peer Lord Redesdale said: "If Eric Pickle's announcement on supporting weekly household bin collections means that Department for Communities and Local Government is leading the charge for source segregated organic collection, it would be great news. This money must only be available to councils who make the best use of the resources, which we throw away.
"That means weekly collection of food waste, segregated from dry recyclable material such as plastic, glass and metal. Not only is that the 'smelly' bit which householders want collected, but it also helps get the most out of the whole waste stream - by preparing food waste for anaerobic digestion and reducing contamination in dry materials.
"The Waste Review recognised that AD gets the greatest environmental benefit from food waste, and this fund can be a massive boost to the AD industry if it encourages councils to collect food waste separately."
Wales Reiterates Stance
Environment Minister John Griffiths has reiterated the Welsh Government's position on weekly waste collections, saying:
"I believe that it is up to councils - not central government - to decide what frequency of waste collections works best for their community. It is clear, however, that the pattern adopted by most Welsh councils, that is weekly separate food waste and recycling collections and fortnightly collections of residual (or black bag) waste, is the most sustainable, successful and cost-effective solution.
"Almost nine out of ten homes in Wales now benefit from a separate food waste collection - a significantly higher proportion than elsewhere in the UK. Weekly food waste and recycling collections mean that the majority of rubbish is collected every week so there is simply no need to waste money collecting half-empty residual bins.
"In addition, we know that weekly collections of food waste and recycling and fortnightly collections of residual waste help boost recycling rates and save councils' landfill costs. This is illustrated by the fact that Wales has the highest recycling rate in the UK."
Darrel Moore
