Householders in Derry are facing a major change in the way their food waste is collected after members of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Environment and Regeneration Committee voted in favour of a new pilot scheme.
The scheme will see householders asked to combine food and garden in the larger garden waste bin for collection.
At present, food and garden waste are collected separately in approximately 33,000 homes and properties in the district.
Council’s Head of Environment, Conor Canning explained to Members that the new collection system has been run on a pilot basis in Strabane, where approximately 8,500 households in the area are receiving a combined fortnightly green and food waste collection using a 240 litre wheeled bin. This will now to be extended to other areas across the council.
Mr Canning added that the change ‘will only be introduced where practical to do so and those properties without gardens – terraced housing, maisonettes etc – will continue to receive a weekly food waste collection using existing collection methods’.
He continued: “Where Council is providing weekly food waste collections to businesses, these too will continue as at present and that the combined collection will enable clearer communication of recycling messages around food and garden waste, especially the circular journey of organic waste from peelings to plants, as essentially the food and garden are mixed by the contractor and turned into compost which is then used in local gardens and parks.”
Mr Canning clarified that ‘collections will be fortnightly on the same day as your existing garden waste collection,’ and if you have a brown garden waste bin you’ll be permitted to put bagged food waste in it from now on. However, you must ensure ‘that you’ve got the food in a compostable bag like you would have done when recycling food using your outdoor caddy.’
The scheme is expected to become operational in the coming weeks with information being issued to residents affected and a full marketing campaign to increase awareness and help residents make the switch from the outdoor caddy to the big brown wheelie bin.
