There is now just a week to go before many areas of Plymouth begin to benefit from weekly food waste collections.
The service will start for many homes in Devonport, Keyham, Plympton, Plymstock, Southway, Stoke, Tamerton Foliot and Whitleigh from Monday 2 March with the rest of the city following in four more phases before the end of the year.
Residents in the first phase are now being encouraged to start filling their new internal caddies with items such as fruit and vegetable peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds and plate scrapings in time for their first collection next week.
Councillor Tom Briars-Delve, Cabinet Member for the Environment and Climate Change, said: “It’s really exciting to be just a few days away from Plymouth’s first ever food waste collection round.
“Over the past few weeks, our teams have been meeting residents across the city and we know many people are already filling their bin ready for us to get started.
“These weekly collections will bring big benefits to the city by increasing our recycling rates, reducing emissions and helping families save money as they become more aware of the amount of food they throw away.”
Over the last month, residents in the first phase have been provided with a small kitchen caddy to make separating food waste from your rubbish easy, a roll of liners and a larger outdoor caddy for storing your food waste and putting it out for collection.
Some residents who live in flats, apartment blocks or houses of multiple occupation have been provided with a communal external bin, instead of individual outdoor caddies.
After collection, the food waste will be processed at a local anaerobic digestion plant. Anaerobic digestion uses bacteria to break down organic matter into a methane rich gas. This is then used to create fertiliser and electricity.
Find out more about the service at www.plymouth.gov.uk/foodwaste
