Residents in Cheshire East can now recycle their food waste as the new service is live.
A six-eight week roll out of the distribution of food caddies is now taking place to those residents with a garden waste bin. The small green caddies are to be used in the kitchen to collect food waste, which is then transferred to the garden waste bin for recycling.
Residents can start recycling food waste with their caddy as soon as they receive it, or can choose to start recycling before they receive their caddies, by putting food waste directly into their garden waste bin.
An initial supply of biodegradable liners will be provided with the food caddy. However, use of these is optional. Once the caddy is full, the food waste goes directly into the garden waste bin along with garden waste, with or without a liner.
Food waste will be collected in the garden waste bin as the council is not able to collect from caddies – these are purely for kitchen use, to transfer food to the garden bin.
The council is delivering the caddies on a six-phase distribution. Phase one starts in Crewe and Middlewich, before teams move further south then up to the north. Residents can check where on the phased distribution they will be by visiting the council webpage at: www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/foodwaste
Residents are advised to wait until the distribution in their area has fully completed before they chase delivery of their caddy. The web page will be kept up to date on the progress of the phased delivery. If a resident finds that they don’t have their caddy after the status of their phase is shown as complete, the page will show information on how to report a missed delivery.
Councillor Brian Roberts, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for highways and waste, said: “I am really excited that this service is now live for Cheshire East residents. The council has acted on their historic concerns about recycling and food waste and has made an investment into this food recycling service. It will reduce the amount of food going to waste and make a difference to our environment
“All residents with a garden waste bin will receive their food caddy by the end of February, weather permitting. A leaflet will be included within their caddy which explains what can and can’t go into it.
“It’s astonishing that on average families in Cheshire East waste £70 a month on food that they buy too much of, cook too much, don’t store properly or don’t use before the use-by date. The leaflet contains tips on how to reduce this to help save money. Any food that does need to go to waste can then go into the food caddy.
“Collected mixed-food and garden waste will be taken to a processing plant in Crewe, where it will be recycled into compost, which is used in horticulture and agriculture.
“We want to thank residents for all they are doing to reduce waste and reuse or recycle where possible.”
Food waste placed in garden waste bins will be collected every two weeks. Residents should refer to the new collection calendars that were sent to all households, for details of their collection schedule. Copies of these calendars can also be downloaded at: www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/bins
Full details of the new service were shown in the resident’s magazine – The Voice. This magazine arrived at households in November and within this is an eight-page, pull-out-and-keep food waste booklet.
A copy of this magazine is available on the council’s website at: www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/thevoice
A new ‘Waste Watchers’ app can be downloaded from the Apple or Google Play stores, which gives advice, collection day information and news about food waste and all waste collection services. Users can also sign up for alerts, such as notifications about missed collection due to bad weather.
Information and reminders about the new service and the phased distribution will feature on Cheshire East Council’s social media pages. Please follow @CheshireEastCouncil on Facebook and @CheshireEast on Twitter to keep up-to-date.
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