Weekly food waste collections to be introduced

Weekly food waste collections are to start in Wolverhampton later this year, the council has confirmed.

The government introduced a requirement for all councils to provide the service from March, but many were not ready.

The city council said on Wednesday its cabinet was likely to approve the plan next week with the service starting - for all kerbside properties initially - from late October.

More information about the service will be shared with residents in the coming months along with food waste caddies and bin liners being delivered to households.

Food waste leftovers can be used to create green energy, natural fertilizer and help cut carbon footprints and improve soil health, the council said.

The new Simpler Recycling legislation has been described by Wrap, a non-governmental climate action organisation, as "the biggest shake-up in recycling policy in England in 20 years".

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has given out more than £340m in grants to councils to provide the service.

Demand for suitable collection vehicles and related equipment has been extremely high, the city council said, but it was now able to start delivering the service this autumn.

Once the food waste is collected, it will be taken to an anaerobic digestion facility where sustainable energy is generated, it added.

Councillor Qaiser Azeem, cabinet member for resident services, said the authority supported efforts to increase recycling.

"All households produce unavoidable food waste, such as tea bags, eggshells and fruit peelings," he said.

"The separate collection service will help residents to recycle these items as well as keep domestic waste bins cleaner and fresher with more space."

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