'˜Start recycling your food waste'

Councillor James Baird, Chairman of Lisburn and Castlereagh City Councils Environmental Services Committee, and Heather Moore, Director of Environmental Services, show how easy it is to recycle food waste from the kitchen and the types of foods that can be recycled.

The local authority has said that from April 1 this year, food waste will no longer be accepted in landfill bins across the council area.

“The council would like to advise its residents that all food waste must be placed in their brown bins for recycling,” a spokesperson said. “Residents are encouraged to start recycling food waste now if they don’t currently do so.

“In terms of recycling, ‘food waste’ is any food item that isn’t used or eaten for one reason or another. It includes common shopping list items such as: eggs and egg shells; fruit and vegetables; tea bags and coffee grounds; any bread or cakes; any cheese, rice, pasta or beans; meat including any bones.”

The spokesperson continued: “The council has introduced measures to ensure that all food waste in its area will be recycled by composting and not landfilled. There has been a good increase in the amount of compostable waste collected from households and schools, but this is a good opportunity for everyone to reduce landfill waste.

“All the food and garden waste collected through the brown bin service is composted at a local reprocessing site, providing a high quality compost and providing local employment.”

Householders are being encouraged to use their kitchen caddy and biodegradable caddy liners to store food waste before placing into their brown bin for fortnightly collection.

Kitchen caddies can be obtained from any of the locations detailed on the council’s website - www.lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk/foodandgardenwaste

For more information about recycling or bin collections click on www.lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk or call 028 9250 9453.