Exeter’s new food waste collection service begins in Alphington
Published: 4 November 2021
The roll out of Exeter’s new kerbside food waste collection service has started with the first round successfully completed in Alphington on Thursday morning.
The service, which will eventually be rolled-out across the whole city, started with 1,300 households in Alphington who now have the weekly service added to their waste and recycling collections.
Other areas of the city will be added to the roll-out as and when vehicles, drivers and containers are available.
Although the City Council encourages people to only buy what they are likely to consume, adding a food waste collection service helps the planet and the battle against climate change, as well as significantly increasing the city’s recycling rate.
Cllr David Harvey, Lead Councillor for City Management, said: “It’s great to be finally rolling this out across the city.
“This is a fantastic new service which will increase our recycling rates in the city. There are challenges in rolling this out across the whole city, not least of which are the availability of vehicles and drivers, but we are absolutely committed to doing so as quickly as we can.
“The good news is we are underway, and I am absolutely delighted and very excited about the start of the roll out.”
Once collected, the food waste is delivered to a nearby facility to be turned into soil improver while generating gas and electricity.
Households in Alphington recently received a red 23-litre kerbside caddy as well as a five-litre grey kitchen caddy.
A dedicated page has been set up on the City Council website to deal with questions about the service, including how to line the caddy or bag up the food waste.
Dates for the rest of the city are still being looked at and will be clearly communicated with residents when a timetable has been developed. People are being requested not to call the Council but to visit the website where a set of frequently asked questions is available.
To find out more information about food waste collections go to the City Council website at http://exeter.gov.uk/FoodWasteCollections