Swindon Council Saves Over £500,000 Through Food Waste Collections

Residents have contributed to their local council saving over £500,000 by participating in food waste recycling, which has seen thousands of tonnes collected. Since the introduction of weekly food waste collection to almost every household in Swindon in November 2023, a total of 4,440 tonnes of food scraps have been made available for collection. Councillor Chris Watts stated that Swindon Borough Council aims to be “as responsible as we can.” He further commented, “Although we’re in a great position in that we send so little waste to landfill, we could make things even better if we recycled more of our waste, including both food and plastics.” Although the authority incurs costs for the removal and processing or landfilling of general waste, it generates a modest profit from the recycling of food waste. Mr. Watts aims to motivate more individuals to set out their food scraps, including items like leftovers, vegetable peelings, and meat and fish bones, and to generally increase the recycling of their household waste. He also stated, “Thank you to everyone who has supported our new food waste collection service since it has been introduced, helping us achieve a greener Swindon.” The borough council is eager to support more residents in recycling their food waste and advises them to order the indoor and outdoor food waste caddies from its website. All food waste gathered in Swindon is transported to a company located in Wiltshire. There, it undergoes a process known as anaerobic digestion for decomposition. This process yields methane, which is subsequently collected and transformed into biogas, ultimately utilized for electricity generation.