VERDANT TO TRIAL KITCHEN WASTE RECYCLING
FOR MID BEDFORDSHIRE

Sevenoaks, Kent, 5 March 2007

Leading independent municipal services contractor Verdant Group plc today announced that it is launching a one-year kitchen waste recycling trial in conjunction with Bedfordshire County Council and Mid Beds District Council. The trial will evaluate residents’ participation levels, operational efficiency and overall contribution to improving Mid Beds’ recycling rate which currently stands at 29%.

Beginning on 2nd April and running until the end of March 2008, the trial will be offered to up to 6,000 local households in both urban and semi-rural locations. If judged a success, the scheme could be extended to Mid Beds’ 30,000 households.

The scheme is based on two caddy-style containers per household – a smaller caddy lined with corn starch bags for collecting kitchen waste which is then transferred into a larger outside bin. The latter will be emptied on a weekly cycle by a dedicated two man Verdant team using a 7½ tonne lorry. Recyclable waste will be taken to an ‘in vessel’ facility for composting.

Scheme partner Bedfordshire County Council has been promoting the trial to residents in target areas via a doorstep campaign and directly-delivered leaflets. Residents will receive their caddies during March.

Steve Whittaker, contract services manager at Mid Beds, said the trial aims to improve recycling rates by diverting suitable kitchen materials normally thrown out as pure waste. He explained: “A long-running waste audit has shown that up to 16% of residual domestic waste is food-related, and we now want to capture as much of that as possible for recycling. We recognize that while the overall weight of recycled kitchen waste may not be high, every kilogramme we can divert helps. We’re aiming for a high participation rate of up to 70%, and the trial will help us identify how best to encourage local residents to get involved.”

Steve Watson, development manager at Bedfordshire County Council, said: “This is an extremely valuable trial. We need to reduce the overall volume of organic waste going to landfill and this is a really positive move towards that goal.”

Paul Ammons, Verdant business manager for Mid Beds, commented: “We run an efficient fortnightly waste and recycling collection service across the district, and have been encouraged by the way that residents support local waste reduction and recycling. Now we want to help our partners take it one step further by trialling recyclable kitchen waste collection, and are confident that residents will contribute to an effective trial.”

In the last few months, Verdant has secured significant new waste, cleansing and recycling contracts with Waltham Forest, Swale, South Beds and Rother councils, and has just renewed a 14 year contract for Isle of Anglesey County Council