Cardiff council is on the verge of becoming a pioneer in the area of food waste collection in the UK. The move seems particularly brave since Cardiff has chosen not to trial the new scheme before putting the plan into action. The plan seems even more significant because the council is prepared to build In-Vessel Composting (IVC) facility to handle the organic waste that will be collected from 140,000 homes beginning in October.
The council doesn’t plan to stop there. Cardiff is also planning to build Household Waste Recycling Centres to assist in the recycling of organic materials.
Although the new campaign has not been tested in Cardiff, trials in similar areas, such as Stockport and various locations in Scandinavia, have met with great success. Organic waste collections have also proven to be highly effective in Bristol. Officials report that the new scheme caused the area’s recycling rates to double.
Councillor Margaret Jones, Cardiff’s executive member for the environment, said: “Weekly food waste collections will start in the autumn and play a very important part in Cardiff’s waste strategy. Every household will be given a kitchen caddy and small biodegradable bags for all their food waste free of charge.
“We predict that this will improve our combined recycling and composting rate by a further 6-10%, putting us well on track to meet the statutory government target of 40% by 2010. The proposed scheme has been used extensively in Scandinavia to great success for many years,” she added.
To learn more, go to: cardiff.gov.uk
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