Households in Northampton and Daventry recycled a staggering 4,600 tonnes of food in the first year of collections, new figures reveal today.
The decision to introduce brown food recycling caddies in 2012 has saved Northampton Borough Council and Daventry District Council a combined £412,000, the cost it would have been to send the waste to landfill.
In Northampton, 3,204 tonnes of food waste was recycled, avoiding landfill charges of £287,000, while householders in Daventry recycled 1,396 tonnes, avoiding £125,000 in landfill charges.
The scheme also benefits householders by highlighting to them the associated cost of the food they waste, which on average equals £500 a year per family.
Instead of being buried in landfill, the waste is processed at a nearby facility in Kettering and turned into liquid fertiliser with the methane generated from the process, also used to generate green renewable electricity.
Councillor David Mackintosh, leader of Northampton Borough Council, said: “Introducing food waste recycling has been a very positive step forward that has given us the opportunity to stop thousands of tonnes of waste going to landfill. It is really great that so many people in Northampton have embraced this initiative. Not only is it good for the environment, but I hope it has also helped people see how much food is wasted so they are able to do something about it and save some money.”
Councillor Chris Millar, leader of Daventry District Council said: “These latest food waste recycling figures are extremely encouraging. Our district already has a national reputation for embracing change and innovation in waste and recycling and that’s thanks to the efforts of our residents. I would encourage anyone who has not yet given food waste recycling a try to have a go and take another simple step towards helping our district become a greener place.”
John Farrell, partnership director at Enterprise, which operates the food waste service on behalf of Northampton Borough Council and Daventry District Council, said: “We’re delighted to have collected thousands of tonnes of food waste in the first year – it’s an amount that has to be seen to be believed.
“We would like to thank everyone who is putting out their caddies every week and ask them to keep it up. But we know there are lots of households that have never used the service, or maybe given it a try but got out of the habit, we would ask them to give it a try and to get in touch if they have lost their original caddy.”