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Food for thought

More than 1,500 homes are surveyed about the new waste food collection system

Village residents across the north of Cherwell have had a chance to comment on the council’s new food waste scheme. Staff from the environmental department have been door-to-door to find out how things are bedding in and how people like the new scheme which is part funded by Oxfordshire Waste Partnership (OWP). The vast majority are happy with the initiative which aims to cut the amount of waste going to landfill and create compost instead.

Councillor George Reynolds, Cherwell District Council's portfolio holder for environment, recreation and health, said: “We want to collect as much food waste as possible in the brown bins and to do this we need a scheme that works on every level. While most people support the scheme and got to grips with things very quickly, some had questions that we are able to answer.”

Officers have already paid a visit to more than 1,500 homes in Hook Norton, Bloxham, Wiggington, Milcombe, Milton, Deddington and Adderbury and will be heading to the Barfords, Duns Tew, Tadmarton and Hempton in the coming weeks. Of the 626 residents spoken to at these properties, 85 per cent had already made the switch, putting food waste in the brown bin instead of the green one. Nine out of ten who had switched are making use of their kitchen caddy - a small container provided for each home to collect their food waste in. This is then transferred to the brown bin. Those who were not using the caddy found it easier to put their food waste straight into the brown bin.

The caddies were delivered with a complimentary roll of compostable liners and some householders were keen to know where they could buy more. While there is now a growing list of retailers selling the liners they are not compulsory, merely a tool for those who wish to use them. Alternatively, the caddy can be lined with newspaper or left unlined. Other people have been home composting for some time but were surprised to learn how many more items they could recycle in their brown bin - cooked food scraps, fish and meat to name just a few.

Sending food waste for recycling is far less harmful to the environment than sending it to landfill, which also costs the taxpayer a great deal of money. “I think the residents who are using the scheme have been surprised by the amount of food waste they accumulate,” added Councillor Reynolds.

Paul Mocroft, OWP communications officer, said: “We've been promoting home composting across Oxfordshire for years as it's the best environmental way of dealing with food waste but there's still cooked food and bones that people can't compost at home. Getting the chance to explain face to face how the new scheme can work alongside their compost bin has been really useful.”

Visit www.cherwell.gov.uk/foodwaste for a wealth of information about the scheme.

Stores currently selling the compostable caddy liners are as follows:

Banbury

Tesco - Lockheed Close
Sainsbury’s - Oxford Road
Morrisons - Swan Close Road
Hillier Garden Centre - Compton Road
Wilkinson - Bridge Street
Robert Dyas - High Street

Bicester

Co-op - Barberry Place
Co-op - Bassett Avenue
Wyevale Garden Centre - Bicester Avenue
Lakeland - Avenue Retail Park
Tesco - Pingle Drive and Sheep Street
Somerfield - Market Square