More households set to get food waste collections in Exeter

Published: 3 February 2023

Just over 2,000 more households in Exeter are set to get food waste collections in the next couple of weeks.

Properties in parts of St Thomas and Exwick are to be added to the scheme as the roll-out starts to gather pace.

A total of 2,179 properties in the two areas will receive caddies and instructions on how to use them next week, from Monday 6 February. The new set of collections will start on Wednesday 15 February.

Further areas within the city will then be added to the roll-out over the coming weeks.

Cllr Ruth Williams, Lead Councillor with responsibility for Recycling and Waste Management, said:  “This is great news. We’re now starting to gain momentum and adding more and more properties to the scheme.

“When you carry out a scheme like this there are always going to be challenges, so it is great to be taking these significant strides forward towards delivering a food waste collection service for the whole of Exeter.

“Moving forward, the rate of the roll-out is dependent on the availability of special food collection vehicles, drivers and domestic food waste containers, as well as expansion of capacity to hold waste at our site at Exton Road prior to transportation for anaerobic digestion.”

“Again, I’d like thank people across the city for being patient with us for this and we will be in touch about when your street is about to be added to the roll-out. In the meantime, please don’t contact our staff unless you really need to – all the information will be put on our website.”

In January, properties in parts of St Loyes were added to the roll-out and are now receiving weekly kerbside collections of food waste.

The first phase of the scheme was rolled out in 2021, with 1,300 properties receiving the first weekly food waste collections in Alphington. The second phase then followed months later with the rest of Alphington added to the initiative.

Two thousand properties in parts of Beacon Heath and Pinhoe were then added to the roll-out last year and thousands more added during the first two months of 2023.

The initiative will then continue to be gradually introduced across the whole of the city. Once complete it is expected that the city’s recycling rate will see a dramatic increase, as food waste is 38% of a typical black bin in Exeter, according to the latest analysis carried out in 2022.

Other areas will be added to the roll-out as and when vehicles, drivers and containers are available and this will be dependent on the supply chain which is currently an issue across the UK.

Exeter City Council encourages people to only buy what they are likely to consume and is currently the best performing of all Devon’s district councils when it comes to producing the least amount of waste per head. This has decreased by a further 3kg per head in 2020/21 to 293kg per person.

However, adding a food waste collection service helps the planet and the battle against climate change, as well as increasing the city’s recycling rate. Currently food waste in Exeter goes in with the general ‘black bin’ collections and is sent to the city’s energy from waste plant at Marsh Barton.

Weekly collections of food waste in parts of St Thomas and Exwick will shortly start taking place alongside existing collections of household waste and recycling (black and green bins).

Once collected, the food waste is sent off to be turned into soil improver while generating gas and electricity.

Each household will receive a 23-litre kerbside caddy as well as a 5-litre black kitchen caddy.

A dedicated page has been set up on the Council's 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 as the roll-out moves forward. 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