How food waste will help community gardens to grow

Weekly food waste collections will help to support more community growing sites in Hull, the council said.

As part of a government scheme, all local authorities must collect household food waste on a weekly basis. The system will be introduced in Hull at the end of March.

Councillor Charles Quinn, portfolio holder for environment at Hull City Council, said the change would allow them to further support community schemes.

He said: "It [food waste] goes to a facility where it's turned into environmentally friendly, peat-free compost. Some of it goes to support agriculture, but a lot is reinvested and given away to community groups."

In September 2023, Hull made history as the first city in the UK to pass the Right to Grow motion, allowing food to be grown on disused council land.

The scheme is part of a broader council strategy to promote green spaces and support wellbeing in Hull.

Quinn added: "We already have a good dozen or so schemes in the pipeline and some of them have already started and there are community growing projects going on right now because of that policy."

In addition to the Right to Grow schemes, Hull is home to three Postcode Gardener projects, which aim to rejuvenate 1,000 neglected spaces across the country.

John Pickles, the representative for Orchard Park, said the council compost deliveries had been "absolutely invaluable" to the HOPE Allotment in Sir Henry Cooper Park.

He said: "Hull's soil is heavy clay, so without adding compost it's hard to make the ground workable for growing.

"This scheme is a perfect example of recycling coming full circle. Material collected from residents is turned into something that helps four schools grow food, learn horticultural skills and understand sustainability in a practical way.

"It saves us money, improves our soil structure, and gives children real, hands-on experience of how a city can use its resources wisely."

Rooted in Hull, a not-for-profit community organisation, has also received free council compost to grow fruit and vegetables on the banks of the River Hull in St Peter's Street.

Manager Martin King said he would like to see the government back its new weekly food waste scheme with education so that people can understand more about what happens once it has been collected.

He said: "We're growing the food, but we're also cooking the food. We're learning about making healthy meals and that has a knock-on effect for our mental health.

"Pretty much everyone that comes here thinks it is a brilliant idea and they think that we should be doing a lot more of this stuff in our city."

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