West Berkshire Council considering introducing new food waste bin

Published: 12:01, 03 March 2020

Measure would aim to reduce amount of food thrown away

WEST Berkshire Council is hoping to introduce a special food waste collection bin to the district.

It is just one of the measures being considered by the council to reduce food waste.

Currently, food waste must either go into a green bin – of which many were returned when the council imposed a £50 fee to recycle garden waste in 2018 – or be thrown away.

At the executive meeting on Thursday, February 13, portfolio holder for the environment Steve Ardagh-Walter said he hoped to have a concrete proposal to bring before the council as soon as possible.

He said: “This council is fully committed to achieving greater environmental stewardship going forward and we are supporting the reduction of food waste generated by households in a wide number of ways.

“We are exploring and wish to move as swiftly as practically possible into a separate food waste collection, ideally on a weekly basis.

“We are looking at a feasibility study and will be going through the options, but I do look forward to developing a detailed proposal on that as soon as possible.”

The council currently employs a range of methods aimed at cutting down food waste, including frequent posting on social media, distributing a newsletter with bins and putting adverts in parish and community magazines.

It also encourages residents to follow the Love Food, Hate Waste campaign, an educational campaign informing people how to reduce their waste.

Newbury Jonathan Ashby