Improved waste and recycling service: New bins arriving soon!
Published: Tuesday, 23 August, 2016
Information about new food waste recycling has been sent to every resident in the Stroud district, ahead of deliveries of new bins starting next week.
From November food waste will be collected weekly, whilst rubbish will be collected fortnightly and current recycling collected fortnightly as usual. Everyone will be provided with a new bin for their food waste and a kitchen caddy for their home.
The majority of residents will be provided with a new grey-wheelie bin for their rubbish, to replace black bags. A small proportion of properties in the district cannot accommodate a wheelie-bin due to lorry access issues or space limitations and they will receive beige bags instead.
Cllr Simon Pickering, chairman of Stroud District Council’s environment committee, said: “This is a massive step forward for recycling in the Stroud district, and we hope this move will significantly reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill. Extensive surveys have found that a large number of people in the district have been keen for us to include food waste recycling for a while, and many other districts in Gloucestershire already provide this service.
“We understand some residents may be concerned about moving to fortnightly rubbish collections, but evidence from around the county shows that once the food waste is taken out it shouldn’t be a problem.
“Food waste currently takes up a third of the space in rubbish bags, but this will be collected weekly in separate food waste bins,” he added. “Meanwhile, many other materials can be recycled in your green wheelie-bin or recycling box, so there will be little left to put into rubbish bins.”
The food waste will be taken to an anaerobic digester, where it is composted and the gases turned into energy to power homes and businesses. The waste product from the process is turned into fertiliser for farmers’ fields.
Mandy Vernon-Smith, who lives in Selsley West with her two children Kitty, 10 and Stanley, 8, was involved in a successful food waste recycling trial in the ‘Stanleys’ area of the district.
“I really liked being able to recycle our food waste,” said Mandy, a local estate agent. “It meant our house bin didn’t get smelly. At the end of each week we barely had a bag full of rubbish left to throw out, I was really surprised. I’m really looking forward to being able to recycle my food waste again.”
New recycling calendars will be provided in October before the new service starts. Anyone with questions is urged to go online www.stroud.gov.uk/newscheme to find details about the service.
More detailed information leaflets will be provided with the bins when they are delivered, between 15 August and 19 October.
Cllr Pickering said: “We are delivering bins, bags and caddies to over 51,000 households in the district. If you see nearby properties receive theirs before you, please don’t be concerned. If you haven’t received any containers by October 20, then please get in touch with us.”