Later on this week residents in Wednesfield and Ashmore Park will receive their new ‘food caddies’ which are aimed at recycling waste food.

Each household will be given two caddies – a smaller one to keep in the kitchen and a larger one to keep outside.

In a typically negative move the Express & Star have decided to christen these caddies ‘slop buckets’, but here at WV11 we think recycling of any kind is a positive thing.

It is estimated that food waste accounts for between 20 and 25 per cent of household waste so the new scheme aims to reduce the city’s reliance on incineration which is more costly than recycling. Waste food will be turned into electricity that will be put back into the National Grid as well as non-chemical biofertilisers for use on local farms.

Here’s some information on what you’ll be receiving this week…

Residents will be given:

• 23 litre (40cm tall) green caddy – to store with your black 240 litre wheeled bin
• 5 litre (20cm tall) silver caddy – to store in your kitchen
• Compostable bags – for use in your silver caddy

You will be able to recycle all food waste including:

• Meat and fish – raw and cooked
• Fruit and vegetables – raw and cooked
• All dairy products such as eggs and cheese
• Bread, cakes and pastries
• Rice, pasta and beans
• Uneaten food from your plates and dishes
• Tea bags and coffee grounds
• Bones

Your green outside caddy will be emptied every week on the same day and in the same vehicle as your black 240 litre wheeled bin.

So just like your black wheeled bin, make sure you put out your caddy by 7am on your collection day and it will be emptied.

As the food caddies are distributed around the city, residents will also be given two rolls of caddie liners each containing 26 liners (total 52) which should be sufficient for a year’s supply. However, after six months of operating the scheme, we will be reviewing the usage of the liners to see how quickly people are getting through them. It is planned to provide liners in subsequent years.

A family from Bradmore, Wolverhampton recently trialled the caddies, find out how they got on here.

More information is available on the City Council website or you can click the links below:

• What is the new service and when will I get my caddies?
• What can I put in my caddy?
• How do I use my food caddy?
• How is it recycled?
• Your questions answered
  

Images courtesy of Wolverhampton City Council.

Whilst Wolverhampton City Council has taken steps to make kerbside recycling relatively easy for residents, it can still be rather complicated when it comes to what you can and what you can’t put out for kerbside collection, along with what should go in the different containers we have.

www.recyclenow.com is a useful resource which allows you to enter your postcode to find out what you CAN put in your kerbside recycling – and if you have something that can’t be collected at the kerbside the website will provide a list of your nearest recycling banks and display them on a map for you.

For more information on recycling services in Wolverhampton including collection dates over the Christmas period, visit the Wolverhampton City Council website.

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