Residents set for detail on food waste collections

Letters about a new weekly food waste collection service will be sent to Wolverhampton residents this week ahead of the scheme starting in the autumn, the city council has said.

The government introduced a requirement for all councils to provide the service from March, but many were not ready and did not introduce it.

The city council said its new, free service would start for all kerbside properties on 26 October, with the letters - setting out more details - to be hand delivered this week and next.

The collected food waste will be taken to an anaerobic digestion facility which generates sustainable energy, fertiliser and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, according to the council.

"The food waste collections will help people deal with their leftover scraps and plate scrapings as well as support our efforts to increase and improve recycling in the city," councillor Qaiser Azeem said.

"Even the most carefully planned menu can produce unavoidable food waste, such as tea bags, eggshells, peelings and meat and fish bones.

"The separate food waste collection service will help residents to recycle these items as well as keep domestic waste bins cleaner and fresher with more space."

The service will be rolled out to flats and other communal properties at a later date.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has given out more than £340m in grants to councils to provide the service.

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