165 tonnes of food waste collected in first collection week

Thousands of households took part in the first week of the new food waste collections in the Lincoln area.

But more people need to use the food caddies distributed to homes in the city and neighbouring North Kesteven and West Lindsey to make the new recycling service a true success.

Hello Lincoln’s quick, unscientific survey of streets in Lincoln showed a wide disparity in caddies being left out on collection days with many showing around half of households taking part – in some areas it was much lower.

However, environment chiefs are pleased with the first week’s take up as more than 165 tonnes of food waste was collected and it hoped more people will join the scheme in the coming weeks.

Cllr Danny Brookes, Chair of Lincolnshire Waste Partnership and Executive Member for Environment at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We’ve been really encouraged by the positive start to food waste collections across Lincoln, North Kesteven and West Lindsey. It’s great to see so many residents already making use of their caddies and getting behind the new service.

“We know introducing something new like this can take a little time to get used to, and we appreciate everyone’s patience as things settle in. The early results show what can be achieved when residents and crews work together, and we’re looking forward to seeing even more households take part in the weeks ahead.”

The food collected is taken to an anaerobic digestion facility, where it will be turned into energy and fertiliser, supporting local agriculture and generating renewable power.

To help collections run as smoothly residents are encouraged to:

• Remove all packaging from food waste, including items from tins
• Place food waste into their kitchen caddy before transferring it to their outdoor caddy
• Use liners if they wish to keep their caddies clean
• Present only their outdoor food waste caddy for collection.