Swindon has become the first town in Wiltshire to trial weekly food waste collections.
The new service began on 2 September and will see 11,000 households testing the service for 26 weeks. After this period has ended the council’s cabinet will then consider whether the service is rolled out to the rest of the town.
Swindon borough council claims the trial has the potential to divert up to 200 tonnes of food waste away from landfill or energy recovery. Swindon has a Waste to Fuel or Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) plant for its residual waste.
Introduction of the trial comes as the government looks to have more councils in England collect food waste from the kerbside. The measure is one of the consistency plans set out in the government’s Resources and Waste Strategy for the collection of waste and recyclables from homes