New waste services take place in Stafford as local schools learn more about waste reduction

A new food waste service started last Monday (April, 13) in Stafford. The purpose of the initiative is to increase the amount of food households are able to recycle.

The council shared that bin crews were sent out on Saturday (April, 18) because of the volume of food being recycled by local people.

The food waste will go to an ‘anaerobic digestion’ plant to be converted into energy and the digestate produced used in agriculture to improve soil.

“This is the biggest change to household recycling across our borough in more than a decade - and the evidence from the first week suggests residents are supporting it,” Cabinet Member for the Environment, Councillor Ian Fordham had said.

He continued: “Obviously rolling out a national initiative across the whole country has made this extremely challenging with local authorities competing to have new vehicles and containers ready to deliver the service - so I can understand how other councils have not been able to do this within the government timescales.”

The items that can go in the new caddies are: Fruit and vegetables - including peelings, fish, meat and bones, tea bags and coffee grounds, eggs and dairy products.

In addition to this, Staffordshire County Council shared that more than 1,000 pupils took part in the Waste Minimisation Roadshows which aims to support young people to better understand how they can reuse and recycle more.

This will be the county council’s sustainability team: reuse, reducing plastic use, and building awareness of what happens to non-recyclable waste in Staffordshire