Go to previous story
Email to a friend
Print articleCllr Sample has taken two new greencone 'food digesters' which have just become available to Wiltshire residents, and he's urging local families to follow the lead.
These digesters can store both raw and cooked food for recycling, helping to drastically reduce the amount of waste households send to landfill.
South Wiltshire residents can pick up these digesters for the discounted rate of ?15 or ?20 (normal retail price ?79.95 and ?108.94) at a special sale this Sunday (8 July) from 10am to 2pm at the Central car park in Salisbury.
Cllr Sample, who is spearheading Salisbury District Council's recycling awareness campaign, said:
?When I heard about these food digesters I knew they would be perfect for a typical family like mine. Food, especially cooked leftovers, is a large contribution of the waste we leave out for landfill ? and I'm sure we're not alone in doing that.
?By purchasing these digesters for a one-off cost, we now have a life time tool for recycling. It will reduce the amount of smelly food waste in our rubbish bags, which is so attractive to flies and rats.?
Wiltshire County Council has launched the food digesters as a trial scheme. The digesters are placed in the garden and the food waste collected (even bones and meat can be disposed of) is either reduced to natural element or turned into compost, depending on which model is purchased.
Around 30% of the average household bin in Wiltshire is made up of biodegradable waste, which is needlessly going to landfill. If the amount of biodegradable waste and other waste going to landfill is not reduced by 8,000 tonnes over the next two and a half years, the council will be hit with fines and additional landfill tax totalling ?1.2 million.
Cllr Sample warned:
?Stringent targets have been set and if we don't meet them we could be heavily fined and also have to pay ?48 per tonne in Landfill Tax for every tonne of waste we send to landfill. If the council has to pay a 7-figure sum it will inevitably have consequences on council services and possibly council tax as well.?
Only limited numbers of the food digesters at this discounted rate are available. Residents that attend the sale at the Central car park on Sunday will need to take proof of address.
