Residents of Edinburgh will live through a new test program where they will be asked to set out their leftovers that were destined for the trash, but to put them beside the recyclables.
This food recycling company will collect the Tupperware sealable boxes starting in April. The insides will be lined with organic biodegradable material. The units will be distributed to 20,000 residents.
On condition that it succeeds, this program will be enlarged to encompass more than 200,000 residents of Edinburgh before the end of 2013.
The council reached this decision in order to reduce the tax bill on landfill, because it is due to be increased to more than £10 million annually in the next 3 years. Another stiff restriction came when the government set a ban to go into effect by 2017 against throwing away biodegradables in the regular trash bin.
Robert Aldridge, Councillor, reminded the public, “We can all help the environment and we all should do our part by reducing the quantity of rubbish we contribute to landfills. It also saves us all money.”
“The service of waste management will be improved; most notable will be the frequency of collections. Food will be picked up weekly, but you will also notice additional chances to recycle materials you never thought of before.”
When recyclable materials are separated properly, the bulk of what’s left is food and plastics. An additional container will be given to place recyclable plastics.
The council believes nearly 750 tonnes of organic consumables (food) will be picked up in 2013/2014, increasing to as much as 20,000 tonnes the next year.
This organically consumable waste will be recycled through compost at the existing facility for garden waste. Midlothian is considering enacting a similar recycling scheme.
Alison Johnstone, Green councillor, reminded us that recycling was not the first step, but the third in the process. “Everyone needs to focus on reducing how much by-product they create, using pieces of foods more efficiently inside the home. We also should more carefully purchase what we need and that which can be more efficiently used, without creating more rubbish than necessary,” she said.
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