Posted on Wednesday 17th February 2010
Remove plastic from your caddies or it may still end up in the landfill, is the message from Gloucester City Council.
Although residents have shown great support for the new waste and recycling service, there have been a number of plastic bags found within the food waste.
During the composting process plastic does not break down and large amounts can mean it will be deemed contaminated – and the only place then for it is the landfill.
Rose Hill Farm near Dymock, currently processes 35,000 tonnes of food and garden waste each year. About 25,000 of this waste comes from households in the city.
Mark Bennion, Rose Hill Farm, site owner said: “During the in-vessel composting process food waste, which is mixed with garden waste, goes through two separate thick concrete tunnels.
“Whilst inside the tunnels, the waste must reach temperatures of at least 60°C for two days. The composting process is both accelerated and controlled by forced air ventilation via floor based ventilation ducts.
“The long term plan is to sell some of the compost to the public at the Household Recycling Centre and at the allotments in the city.”
Councillor Steve Morgan, cabinet member for the environment said: “I have to say how pleased we have been with the amount of residents who have taken to the new food waste collection service, but I would ask residents not to use plastic bags.
“This includes those bags which say they are biodegradable. Unfortunately, these bags will not decompose during the ten-week process. If residents would like to line their caddies they can do so with newspaper, or with compostable, paper caddy liners which are available to buy online and some major supermarkets.”
ENDS
Posted on Wednesday 17th February 2010