Meeting documents

Kitchen food waste collection: February 6, 2008

Statement by Scott Morrison, Organiser, Bath Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth applauds the introduction of food waste collection. We assume that the delay in its introduction will allow the council time to:

1) proactively seek waste contractors who can offer in-vessel compost or anaerobic digestion within the local area and

2) set up and promote a waste reduction scheme to be introduced at the same time.

Whether B&NES joins in the West of England to find a residual waste solution or not, we still need, at a county level, both windrow composting and in-vessel composting. Rather than relying on Dimmer or other out of county services for our kitchen food waste, we should be looking to invite companies to put forward plans for these services in close proximity to Bath, Keynsham and Norton-Radstock. A council survey of possible locations could aid in finding these waste contractors.

Fortnightly waste collection has many detractors. Friends of the Earth would like to offer a simpler solution: a printed bag scheme. This scheme would be cheap to administer as the council's commercial waste division already operates this way. (show Bag)

To take this into the residential sector, we propose that an allocation system of free bags per family is developed. For example, a family of 3 could receive 35 bags per year, a larger family would receive more. If they run out the council sells them extra. The beauty of this scheme is its flexibility: there is still a weekly pick-up, but there is a method for applying some gentle pressure on residents to pay attention to excessive waste. If one week you have extra rubbish, you use two of your allotted bags, if you go on holiday or are actually learning the habits that waste less you put out no bag that week. There is no limit to the number of bags you can put out, but at some point lots of waste will cost that resident extra. As someone who buys these bags it is surprising how well

£1 a bag focuses your recycling skills.

There will obviously be exceptions necessary within the allotment system, possibly reduced prices for those on benefits or the elderly. Overall this scheme could save money rather than cost the council and when the gradual impact of less waste is delivered to landfill the savings could be significant. In the future as the community starts to live more in accordance with a zero waste lifestyle, the number of bags per year could be reduced or their size reduced.

This system can't be implemented before the food collection service starts, but it is ideal to launch them together, because they compliment each other so well. If this scheme is adopted it should be advertised with complete honesty about the intention: to help residents to waste less, to help the council with landfill tax, to help the world halt global warming. We think this printed bag scheme can bring about a fairer method for waste reduction while freeing up council money to be used elsewhere.