Preston leads Lancashire in food waste recycling

Preston is leading the way in Lancashire for food waste recycling, with approximately 3,000 tonnes of food waste collected since the service was introduced in April.

The introduction of this new recycling scheme has made food waste caddies available to more than 71,400 eligible households across Preston.

Preston residents have been recycling around 2.16 kilograms of food waste per household each week, roughly the weight of a standard house brick.

430 tonnes of food waste were collected in August, demonstrating the strong level of participation across the city.

Councillor Zafar Coupland, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing and Neighbourhood Services, said: “This is fantastic news for Preston and a brilliant start to our food waste recycling service. To have collected around 3,000 tonnes since April shows that residents are embracing the scheme and making a real difference.

“I would like to thank everyone who has taken part in the new food waste recycling scheme and to have made such a positive impact already. There is always more we can do recycle waste and reduce our emissions, so we will continue promoting the service and supporting residents to recycle as much food waste as possible.”

The service was supported by a major launch campaign in April across Preston and Lancashire, helping residents understand how the scheme works and encouraging households to get involved. Take-up has been positive and higher than expected. All food waste collected from households is sent for processing into a compost-like material used in land restoration, which reduces the amount of carbon emissions released into the atmosphere.

The council’s active recycling team has also been working with schools and communities across the city. School education programmes, community engagement sessions and a competition to decorate the new food waste collection vehicles have helped to spread the message.

Three winning designs from local Preston children are now being displayed on Preston’s food waste trucks.

One design in particular by 8-year-old Kevin grabbed the attention of the Council’s recycling team and has been transformed into the face of the newly launched ‘Feed the Monster’ campaign. The food waste monster will help promote the service to younger residents, with the campaign launched at Halloween.

Councillor Zafar Coupland, added: “This is only the beginning. We have plans to build on this success through further promotion and community engagement in order to make Preston a more sustainable city for everyone. Keep an eye out for our food waste monster and get ready to Feed the Monster.”

Further engagement is planned over the coming months, to find out how residents are getting on with the service and where improvements could be made. The Council will also continue working with schools and community groups to answer questions and encourage participation.

The next scheduled community events are:

2 December at ASDA Fulwood

9 December at St Georges Shopping Centre

17 December at Preston Markets