City launches waste recycling trial

The trial in the Rothwell area will see households' black bins emptied fortnightly, with a weekly collection of food waste and other fortnightly waste collections.

More than 8,000 households are to take part in the six-month trial, which Leeds City Council says will help the city step up its recycling and composting rates and reduce the amount of waste buried in landfill.

Research by the authority has shown that up to 40 per cent of the total weight of Leeds households' black bins is food waste. This could be as much as 40,000 tonnes a year.

This waste is currently sent to landfill sites where it rots, releasing harmful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Council leaders hope the trial will encourage more people to recycle.

The new recycling scheme includes:

fortnightly collections of paper, card, cans and plastic in green bins;

fortnightly collection of garden waste in brown bins except in December, January and February, when they will be emptied every four weeks;

fortnightly collection of the black general waste bins;

a weekly collection of food waste.

In Leeds 30 per cent of household waste is currently recycled but council chiefs want this to increase to more than half by 2020.

Under the new scheme residents will be able to put any food waste straight into a small kitchen caddy inside the house and transfer it to a larger food waste bin outside, which will be collected weekly.

As part of the trial, households have been given a choice of sizes of outside food waste bin to meet their needs.

The bins will be delivered to homes in the Rothwell trial area from February 15.

The trial will be closely monitored and evaluated before any longer term decisions are made about future recycling services across the city.

The European Union and the Government are demanding that councils across the UK reduce the amount of waste that they bury in landfill sites. If this is not done, Leeds could face fines of up to 200m between now and 2020, council chiefs warned last night.

As well as receiving a detailed information pack on how to use the new services, four new council workers being dubbed as "waste doctors" will be available to visit properties to answer any questions about the new services and provide practical support to residents to help them to recycle more.

The first of the new collections will take place in Rothwell on February 22.

Leeds City Council's executive board member for environmental services, James Monaghan, said: "Whilst we are encouraged that residents in Leeds are recycling more than ever, we want to find ways to be recycling over half of all household waste by 2020, by providing a range of

services that work well for residents.

"We know residents are keen to recycle as much as they can, so we've chosen to trial increased recycling collections and separate collection of food waste in Rothwell.

"Over the coming weeks we'll be working closely with residents in Rothwell to show them how these exciting new recycling services will work and answer their questions.

"Rothwell residents are among the best recyclers in Leeds and we know that they will help to make the trial a great success and to help Leeds to reduce the amount of waste buried in the ground."

For more information about the recycling collection

trials, visit www.leeds.gov.uk/recycleforleeds