Food waste recycling in north Shropshire

Residents in north Shropshire will find it even easier to recycle more, thanks to a new recycling initiative being rolled out by Shropshire Council and their waste contractor Veolia.  

Residents who live in the former North Shropshire District Council area can already add all types of food waste to their garden waste, as it all gets treated in an in-vessel composting facility which is designed to treat both types of waste to turn it into compost.   

To encourage more residents to join in the service, all households in north Shropshire are being provided with a kitchen caddy.   The caddies, which will start to be delivered to households from Monday 5 November 2012, come with a starter pack of special compostable liners to make it easy for residents to separate food waste in the kitchen.  An information leaflet explaining everything about the service will also be provided.

The aim is that people will use the new caddies to collect up all their kitchen food waste including peelings, tea bags and leftovers to keep it separate from the other rubbish which goes in the black bins.  The rubbish in the black bins is sent to landfill, so by putting food waste in the garden waste bins, residents are recycling more.  

Mike Owen, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for waste management, said:

“I am delighted that we’re making it even easier for residents.  By encouraging more households in north Shropshire to add food waste into their garden bins, we can reduce the amount of waste which goes to landfill, which will save taxpayers money and protect the environment. “

Keith Barrow, Shropshire Council’s leader, said:

“By recycling their waste food, residents in north Shropshire can help us make a real dent in the cost of getting rid of our waste.  The more we recycle, the more benefit it is to council taxpayers and our environment.” 

Donald Macphail, Veolia Environmental Services’s Regional Director, added:

“We shall be delivering a kitchen caddy, a roll of compostable liners and an instructional leaflet to each household in north Shropshire from 5 November.  The leaflet explains everything about how the service works.  For further information visit www.recycleforshropshire.com.” 

Further information 

South Shropshire residents can also add food waste to their garden waste collections. 

However, people living in the Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth and Oswestry areas cannot add food waste to their garden waste, as it is composted in a different way. 

Veolia are currently in the process of seeking planning permission for a new in-vessel composting facility which, if successful, will enable this service to be expanded across the county longer term.