District to get food waste collections in spring

A new weekly food waste recycling service is to be rolled out in part of West Sussex.

Chichester District Council said it would start sending constituents a kitchen caddy and outdoor food waste recycling bin in March.

Mark Chilton, the council's cabinet member for finance, corporate services and Chichester contract services, said: "This project is a huge undertaking, and we are asking residents to please bear with us as we deliver caddies and bins to every individual property across more than 300 sq miles [777 sq km]."

From March, all councils in England that do not already offer a food waste collection service must have one in place.

Chilton added: "This will be a significant change and promises to bring substantial benefits to our district, especially as around a third of the average rubbish bin in the Chichester district is food waste."

The councillor said new routes had been designed for the service to make sure they were as efficient as possible.

"The service will be very easy to use, and regardless of how much food waste a household produces, it all counts," he added.

"We want to recycle more and waste less, and every household can play a part."

The service will be introduced across Chichester in stages, according to the council.

Residents will be able to put their food waste, including plate scrapings, peelings and tea bags, into their kitchen caddy. Once full, it can be emptied into an outdoor food waste recycling bin, which will be collected weekly.

Once collected, food waste will be recycled at an anaerobic digestion facility in Horsham where it will be used to generate natural forms of energy, including biogas and bio-fertilisers.

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