Council '˜rubbish' food waste in black bins

Mid Ulster District Council is continuing its fight against food waste being wrongly placed in black bins, with the introduction of new recycling messaging on its fleet of bin lorries.
The Chair of the Environment Committee, Councillor Clement Cuthbertson is pictured with one of the bin lorries carrying the new messagingThe Chair of the Environment Committee, Councillor Clement Cuthbertson is pictured with one of the bin lorries carrying the new messaging
The Chair of the Environment Committee, Councillor Clement Cuthbertson is pictured with one of the bin lorries carrying the new messaging

New advertising panels on the sides of vehicles are designed to encourage residents to dispose of food waste correctly in the brown bin and not the black, while also illustrating the difference recycling food waste makes to the environment. Designs on the lorries show how one kitchen caddy full of food waste can generate enough energy to toast eight slices of bread or power a television for 2.5 hours - conveying the message that food recycling really does make a difference!

The project, which is the next stage in the council’s ongoing campaign to get residents to increase food waste recycling saw a total of 24 bin lorries fitted with the new messaging panels.

The Council received a £14,550 grant from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to fund the project.

Already as part of the campaign the Council is in the process of delivering a free recycling pack to every home in the district. The pack includes brown and blue bin stickers detailing what can be disposed of in each bin and a sticker for the black bin saying ‘No Food Waste’ as well as a free roll of compostable caddy liners for food waste.

Councillor Clement Cuthbertson, the Chair of the Environment Committee, is delighted the council is putting so much effort into highlighting the importance of proper food waste recycling.

“The new food waste recycling messaging on council bin lorries is a fantastic and fitting move which will act as a timely reminder for us all to recycle our food waste more responsibly when we see the vehicles out and about,” he said.

“The messaging uses real examples to show that food waste recycling really does make a difference which is a very effective way of getting people to think about the bigger picture.”