Food waste trial saves council thousands of pounds

The cost of disposing food waste is much less than disposing general waste, the council said

Residents have saved a council more than £3,000 by using food caddies as part of a trial, the authority said.

Slough Borough Council said more than 30 tonnes of food waste have been collected from the residents in five areas since the trial started on 1 July.

Each tonne of food waste costs £10 to dispose of but general waste collected in Slough’s grey bins costs about £120 to get rid of.

The authority urged residents in the trial areas to use their caddies more to divert waste into the cheaper food waste collections.

Residents living in parts of Britwell, Langley, Colnbrook, Chalvey and the Diamond Road estate received the caddies in June ahead of the the trial.

Cllr Gurcharan Manku, the authority’s lead member for environmental services, said: “Our thanks go to the hundreds of residents who are taking part in the food waste trial – for not only doing their bit to help the planet, but also to help Slough with a cash saving with each tonne of food that is recycled.

“The benefits of the food waste collection are not just financial, but environmental with each tonne of leftovers, bones, used tea bags, fruit and vegetable peelings being turned into green energy and fertiliser.”