A NEW strategy will save taxpayers money and help reduce the amount of food waste sent to energy recovery facilities, council chiefs have said.
The proposals, to be discussed by Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet this month, have been drawn up in response to new national recycling regulations.
Under the rules, every local authority across England must collect food waste from households on a weekly basis in a bid to simplify collections an increase recycling rates.
Across Staffordshire, different areas have different methods of food collection. Some locations already collect it separately, while others ask residents to put it in general waste.
Under the proposals one contract will apply across the whole county, with Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for connectivity, Cllr Andrew Mynors, saying the the new strategy will reduce administration and save money.
“This framework for food waste disposal will develop one contract to cover the whole of Staffordshire. This means we can comply with national regulations, and also save money in the long-run on administration and contract management costs.
“It also means a unified approach to food waste collection across the county, ending the different systems we currently see.
“We can also encourage our communities to change their behaviour when it comes to waste and reduce the amount going to energy recovery by around 20,000 tonnes.”
The strategy will be discussed at Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet meeting on 18th June.
