Pembrokeshire County Council’s successful food waste scheme will be expanded next week to serve a further 6,000 households.
It means over half the county’s residents will benefit from a service that helps reduce the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill.
The new areas include; Pembroke Dock, Neyland, Roch, Camrose, Simpson Cross, Penally, Manorbier, Jameston, Lydstep, and Kilgetty.
All the properties covered by the roll-out will receive a kitchen caddy to collect unwanted food and scraps in the home.
They will also receive a larger food bin to be placed out with their weekly recycling collection, along with a supply of compostable bags.
Not only are the bins more hygienic than using black sacks, they prevent attacks from animals, especially if they are put out overnight.
Some Milford Haven residents say they are enjoying a lie-in on the morning of their refuse collection as they are no longer woken up by squawking seagulls foraging for food!
Cllr Ken Rowlands, Cabinet Member for Environmental and Regulatory Services, believes the expansion of the scheme shows how committed the County Council is to reducing the amount of waste it buries underground.
“The food waste scheme is a brilliant service that is easy to use and has real benefits for the environment,” he said.
“Some 6,000 tonnes of food waste is produced each year by the residents of Pembrokeshire. Not only does this incur a huge cost in landfill tax and disposal fees for our Council Tax payers, it also produces a large amount of methane and other greenhouse gases.
“Under the new scheme, food waste will be taken to a composting plant, where it will be turned into a vital source of nutrients for agricultural use with the added benefit of off-setting the use of artificial fertilisers.”
Cllr Rowlands is urging householders who are joining the scheme to read the instruction booklets that came with the bins to ensure they hit the ground running.
“The Welsh Assembly has given us strict recycling and composting targets to reach. If we don’t meet them, we will face severe financial penalties that could affect other Council services,” he said.
“By using the scheme correctly, we can make ensure those targets are met, thus ensuring a sustainable future for Pembrokeshire.”
