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Print articleThe weekly collection service will allow residents to recycle paper (including magazines and newspapers), plastic bottles, cans, tins, glass bottles and jars using the orange sacks that have been provided.
The service will also allow residents living in flats to recycle raw and cooked food waste for the very first time. Each flat in the trial has been provided with a sealable and lockable food waste collection bin. Residents can use this to recycle organic waste including dairy products, fish, fruit and vegetables, meat and bones, bread and pastries and tea and coffee grounds.
The new service will be trialled for one year, but may be extended if it is successful. Kingston is one of 17 local authorities across England taking part in the trial, which is being funded by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) and Defra. Only two councils ? Kingston and Hackney ? are trialling the system with flats.
The aim of the trial is to look at the best way of diverting food waste from landfill. Reducing the amount of biodegradable waste which goes to landfill is important as it cuts emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and is a key part of the battle against climate change.
Food waste collected during the trial will be taken to an in-vessel composting site in Croydon where it will be turned into a compost-like product which will be used as a soil conditioner on local farms. The dry materials collected in the orange sacks will be taken to the Villiers Road Recycling Centre where they will be sorted and sent on for reprocessing into a variety of different products.
Councillor Liz Shard, Executive Member for Sustainability and Biodiversity at Kingston Council, said:
?The flats recycling trial is yet another important development in the borough's recycling service. The Berrylands Trial has already taught us a great deal about the best way for houses to manage their refuse and recycling in the future. This new trail will do the same but for flats, which present additional challenges when it comes to door step collection. Together, these two trials will give us an excellent insight into how to cater for the different types of properties we have in the borough when the new refuse and recycling service is rolled out across the borough in September 2008.?
Linda Crichton, of WRAP, said:
?Although composting food waste can dramatically reduce the amount of rubbish that goes to landfill, few local authorities offer a separate collection for it at the moment. By trialling and analysing different schemes in diverse areas, we can identify good practice and provide information to local authorities to inform their decisions on collecting food waste.?
