Food waste recycling success in Reading
Council say first month collection the equivalent weight of 92 elephants
More than 500 tonnes of food waste was collected in the first month of Reading Borough’s new bin service, it has been revealed.
The haul came from around 70,000 homes and totalled 554.2 tonnes – the same average weight as 92 elephants!
Each household contributed 2.35 kilograms of food waste on average, which is the equivalent of about five footballs.
The scheme is meeting its target of helping Reading Borough Council (RBC) to reach a recycling rate of 45 per cent.
RBC is aiming to recycle 55 per cent of waste by 2025.
The collections, which started on February 1 as a new council service following a trial last year, enables food waste to be diverted away from landfill and used to generate electricity and fertilise crops.
The service was introduced alongside changes to the borough’s black bin sizes, with the general waste bins reduced from 240l to 140l.
Another 14,000 households, in high and low rise flats, will get the food waste bins between July 2021 and March 2022.