Weekly food waste collections set to start across Banbury area

From March 1, Cherwell District Council will be collecting food waste from the kerbside once a week instead of fortnightly. The new 23-litre outdoor food waste caddies are being delivered across the district in phases. People will be notified of their delivery date by hangers fixed to the handles of their other bins.

The update comes as another service change, the payable garden waste service, hits 11,000 subscribers.

Councillor Dan Sames, lead member for clean and green, said: "Tough government targets for dealing with food waste mean that we are having to move to collect food waste on a weekly basis. This will offer greater convenience to us as residents as well as increasing recycling rates across the district.

"From March, the food waste will be treated in a different way to how it was treated with garden waste. It will go to an anaerobic digestion plant in Cassington where it will produce clean methane that is burnt to create a clean source of electricity and fed into the national grid. A by-product of this process is a rich liquid fertiliser that can be used on farm fields to help grow more food, so starting the food cycle all over again."

Electricity generated by food waste collected from Cherwell households could run 9,000 fridge-freezers, or power a TV in every household in the district for 15 hours a week.

The ‘digestate,’ or liquid fertilizer, produced by people’s food waste will be distributed to local famers and can replace petrochemical fertilisers.

Although their silver caddies may arrive well in advance of the start date, people are advised that the two new services will not begin until March 1.

The brown bin will be changing to a chargeable service, to be used for garden waste only, from March 1.

Registration is now open and people will be charged £36 for their first annual subscription licence if they sign up before February 28.

Cllr Sames added: “We are really pleased with the high volume of subscriptions that the payable garden waste service has already achieved, with more than 11,000 households having signed up.”

People can check their silver food waste caddy delivery date at cherwell.gov.uk/caddydates