Burton households help power strong start for Staffordshire food waste scheme

Staffordshire’s new weekly food waste recycling service is already proving a hit with households across the county - and Burton residents are helping lead the way.

The county-wide scheme, which launched in East Staffordshire at the end of March, has seen an impressive 801 tonnes of food waste collected during April alone across the areas where the service is now up and running.

In East Staffordshire, nearly 200 tonnes of food waste were collected in the first full month, with residents embracing the new indoor and outdoor food caddies faster than expected. Not bad for something most of us used to scrape into the bin without a second thought.

The scheme is designed to make it easier for households to recycle leftovers, tea bags, peelings and other food waste separately from general rubbish. Once collected, the waste is turned into renewable electricity and fertiliser for farms and green spaces across Staffordshire.

Councillor Andrew Mynors, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Connectivity, said the early response had been “fantastic”.

He said: “It is fantastic to see such a positive response from residents in the first areas where the new food waste recycling service has launched.

“Early take-up has exceeded expectations and shows that people are willing to make small changes at home that can have a big impact across the county.

“Every banana skin, tea bag, plate scraping or leftover that goes into a food waste caddy instead of the general rubbish bin helps us recycle more and reduce waste. We want to thank residents who are already using the service and encourage them to keep going every week.”

The service forms part of a wider county effort to reduce waste and improve sustainability, with Staffordshire councils working together through the Staffordshire Sustainability Board.

As well as helping recycle more waste, the scheme is also encouraging households to think about how much food they throw away in the first place - which could be good news for both the environment and the weekly shopping bill.

The next stage of the rollout will see weekly food waste collections introduced in South Staffordshire, Staffordshire Moorlands, Lichfield and Tamworth over the coming months.

Andrew added: “This is just the start. The early response shows real momentum, but the biggest difference will come from residents continuing to use their caddies week after week.”

So if you’ve been wondering whether your lonely little food caddy is making a difference - the answer appears to be yes. Even if it does now know far too much about your abandoned salad ambitions.