Food waste gives energy to council’s recycling agenda
NEW weekly food waste recycling and bin collections have begun in Rushmoor in what is the largest shake up to the bin collection service for years.
Households across Aldershot and Farnborough have been given new caddies to store their food waste at home, ready to be collected by the borough council every week.
The weekly food waste collections are part of Rushmoor’s pledge to tackle climate change by making it easier for residents to recycle more. Households can use their weekly food waste collection to recycle all types of food waste including scrapings and peelings, raw and cooked meat and fish, cheese, eggs, rice and pasta, bread, tea bags and coffee grounds, fruit, veg and pet food.
Once collected, the food waste will be taken to an anaerobic digestion facility in Basingstoke where it will be broken down to produce biogas used to generate renewable energy and soil fertiliser.
Residents who have individual rubbish and recycling bins at their home have received outdoor and kitchen caddies to get them started with the new service that begins this week.
The borough council will be rolling out food waste collections to properties with shared or communal bins from next spring.
At the same time as introducing its weekly food waste collections, the borough council is also moving to fortnightly collections of green rubbish bins, with new collection calendars handed out. These collections have been cut back from a weekly service, with fewer believed to be required as a result of the new food waste collections.
Cllr Maurice Sheehan, the cabinet member for operational services at the borough council, said: “We’re thrilled to see food waste collections getting started across Rushmoor. This new service gives us a stronger focus on recycling and introducing food waste collections is a simple way to make a real difference. It’s easy to do, much kinder for the environment and will have a positive impact on our recycling rates.
“We are here to support everyone through the changes, with regular information and advice. We also have a team of advisors on hand and ready to help our residents get the most out of food waste recycling.”