30/01/12 Food Waste Recycling - A winning recipe!

Residents have played an important part in the borough’s rising recycling rate. This month the council recognises the huge success of its waste and recycling scheme one year on.

Maidstone Borough Council was the first in Kent to introduce a separate weekly collection of food waste and in the past year the success of the service speaks for itself.

80% of households are using the service, with more than 5,000 tonnes being recycled over the last 12 months. However the best news is that overall, Maidstone residents are producing 8% less waste than the previous year. Maidstone Borough Council however would like to reduce this further and is hoping that the food waste service will continue to encourage residents to think about the food they waste. Residents have told the council that the new service has changed the way they view waste and are pleased with the recycling services now offered.

Cabinet Member for the Environment, Cllr Marion Ring, said: “We wouldn’t have achieved these impressive figures without the help of our residents. They are the ones making the service a success and so I’d like to thank everyone for their support. This scheme is giving residents an easy and convenient way to recycle.”

The food waste is turned into compost at a nearby facility in West Malling and the compost produced is used on local farmland to enrich the soil.

Cllr Ring added: “It’s a great system, it’s simple and it’s very sustainable.”

And the scheme has been a hit with industry experts too. The new service won a LARAC (Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee) award which recognised the success of the service and the huge levels of support from local residents.

For more information on reducing, reusing and recycling your waste visit maidstone.gov.uk, email the waste team at waste@maidstone.gov.uk.

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