main content Kitchen waste recycling collection trial

Kitchen waste is set to be collected and composted from 6,000 homes in the borough, in a bold new six month trial beginning this month. Letters have been delivered to all householders involved, along with a kitchen caddy, kerbside container and explanatory leaflet. The ‘Composting for All’ campaign builds on Bromley’s soaring success at ‘dry’ recycling, currently London’s best recycler.

"Bromley residents have responded fantastically to the Council's recycling initiatives thus far and I would like to thank everyone for their efforts to date. We need to do more still though if we are to avoid increases in landfill tax, which are set to double over the coming three years, with implications for Council Tax bills. About a third of what goes into our dustbins is kitchen waste and is ‘compostable’. If this trial can be made to work, it could eventually save the Borough, quite literally, millions of pounds in addition to reducing the unsustainable pressures on the Country's dwindling landfill sites. If you are in one of the trial areas, please get involved and give it a go” said Councillor Colin Smith, Executive Councillor for Environment and Leisure.

Residents taking part in the six month trial will be able to put all their normal food waste, like fruit and vegetable peelings, teabags, and eggshells, in a separate bin pending collection. Participants should note that foodstuffs that cannot be composted at home such as cooked foods, meat, fish, and bones, will also be collected by the service.

The new service is not intended to replace home composting, which is still one of the most cost-effective and ‘environmentally sound’ ways to reduce the amount of waste produced. There are a wide range of compost bins available to Bromley residents at a reduced price, starting from £8 including delivery.

The kitchen waste trial will run in selected parts of Beckenham, Bromley Common, Keston, Penge, Shortlands and West Wickham. In addition to the kitchen waste collection, participating households will have their paper recycling collected weekly, instead of fortnightly as a way of trying to determine whether the frequency of collections affects the amount collected. Midway through the trial, residents’ views will be sought with a feedback survey.

Information about waste and recycling is available at www.bromley.gov.uk/wastenews or by calling the Council’s Customer Service Centre on 020 8313 4557.

ENDS

Notes to editor’s:

• Last year, the Council sent 69,000 tonnes to landfill and spent approximately £1.5 million on land fill tax at £21 per tonne. In the current financial year, landfill tax is £24 per tonne. Each year, landfill tax rises by £8 per tonne and will be £48 per tonne in 2010/2011.
• Residents can obtain discounted compost bins by calling 0845 077 0757.
• The ‘Composting for All campaign’, which includes the ‘kitchen waste’ trial, aims to increase the amount of ‘organic’ waste which is composted or ‘recycled’. It forms part of the ‘Council’s Recycling for All’ initiative which has focussed on ‘dry’ recycling such as glass and paper etc.

For media enquiries, please contact Andrew Rogers, Communications Advisor on 020 8461 7670 e-mail andrew.rogers@bromley.gov.uk or John Bosley, Waste and Recycling Contracts Manager on 020 8313 4852.

Further information about waste and recycling is available at www.bromley.gov.uk/wastenews