Broadland expands successful recycling service

Duncan McBurney, Contract Manager at Veolia with Cllr Judy Leggett, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Excellence with food caddies infront of a food waste truck

Broadland District Council has worked hard with its residents to achieve the highest recycling figures in Norfolk.

The Council is always looking for ways to improve its services and now Broadland District Council is taking another huge step by ensuring that all residents in the district have the opportunity to recycle any wasted food.

Broadland was the first local authority in Norfolk to carry out separate food waste collections and from 3 October the Council and its recycling and waste collection partner Veolia, are starting to roll out food waste collections across the whole district, adding an additional 30,000 households to the service.

Cllr Judy Leggett, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Excellence, said:

“We are pleased and proud to make this investment in our district, rolling out this important service to all residents. As well as reducing harm to the planet and protecting the environment, this forward-looking step will bring real benefits to our district. The food waste we collect will be used to generate electricity and as fertiliser for use in farming.”

Duncan McBurney, Contract Manager at Veolia said:

“Reducing your food waste is the best thing to do for the environment. However, some food waste is unavoidable and some of this waste cannot be home-composted. So we are delighted to be able to extend this service providing even more residents with the opportunity to recycle their food waste.”

Broadland has a recycling rate of 49%, the highest of any local authority in the county and with this addition to an already successful service, that figure will improve even more.

In the last 12 months the Council has recycled more than 2,600 tonnes of waste food and it has calculated that if every household in Broadland recycles their food waste it could save up to 270 tonnes of CO2 being released in the atmosphere each year.

The additional households have received a 23L outdoor container to be left out for collection, a smaller kitchen caddy for use indoors, an information leaflet explaining the food recycling process and a roll of bio-degradable liners (more will be provided free of charge as needed).

This is an exciting opportunity for residents to play their part in the recycling revolution and help the Council to protect the local environment.

The service will be extended to residents in flats from November 2022. More information will be available on the Council website closer to the roll-out of the service.

For more information visit our food waste page.

Published: 27 September 2022