This autumn, we are helping 130,000 households to recycle their food waste. Households in Brentwood, Castle Point and Colchester will receive items to make recycling food even easier. These include a free roll of caddy liners and an information leaflet.
Food waste makes up around a quarter of the general rubbish collected in Essex. This food goes to landfill where it rots. Landfill is the least sustainable and most expensive waste management option. For this reason, we are keen to increase the use of food caddies among Essex residents.
Last year, we rolled out a similar approach to increase the amount of food waste recycled in nine areas. The project achieved great results within the first three months after the intervention. The areas saw an average increase of 21% of food recycled, compared to the previous year.
Councillor Peter Schwier, Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction and Recycling, said: "This is a much-needed intervention that will benefit our county in many ways. Disposing of food waste in landfill costs Essex taxpayers £9 million a year. By recycling your food waste, you would help save money that could be used for other essential services.
"You would also help create green energy. When food waste is recycled, it is transformed into energy that can power Essex homes. It is also converted into fertiliser for farms.
“This is an exciting opportunity to increase food recycling at the kerbside. I cannot wait to see the results.”
Find out how to recycle your food waste.