The LARAC Conference 2022 was a huge success. Here are some of the questions we encountered there from local authorities, with the answers.
The LARAC Conference 2022 was a must-attend for councils and anyone in the waste recycling sector. We at BioteCH4 got to speak to representatives from many different councils there.
The big question everyone had was when the Government would publish the response to the Consistency Consultation. Dr Barbara Leach, Head of Resources & Waste Strategy Evaluation at Defra, confirmed we should hear before Christmas this year.
Now, wouldn’t that be a nice present from Santa!
If food waste collection is on the horizon, there are certain considerations to think about. Here are some of the top questions we were asked.
Q.1: Will the legislation allow us to continue to collect mixed organics?
The Environment Act requires councils to collect all recyclable waste streams separately. Two (or more) waste streams may only be collected together if it can be demonstrated:
- it is not technically or economically practical to collect them separately, AND
- there is no significant environmental benefit of a separate collection over co-collection.
Additionally, food waste must be collected weekly.
Putting these together, it is cheaper to collect food and green waste together fortnightly, but food waste must be collected weekly. This makes co-collection expensive.
It also means both wastes must be treated at ABP-compliant plants, which, again, is more expensive.
And, it’s cheaper to anaerobically digest (AD) food waste, with the added benefit of allowing the green waste to be treated at non-ABP regulated sites, which also costs less.
Anaerobic digestion of food waste also presents significant environmental benefits over composting food and garden waste. Therefore, a mixed food and garden waste collection are likely to fail the ‘significant environmental benefit’ test.
Those at the LARAC workshop could find no reason to collect mixed organics other than honouring existing contractual commitments.
Q.2: How can we increase participation in food waste collection schemes?
Firstly, we’ve partnered with Councils, including North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC), to trial food waste collections.
In our experience, selecting collection rounds representative of the entire demographic of the area allows officers to establish what works well and what needs adjusting in readiness for a full scheme roll-out.
That is important as it’s key to identify what’s important to people and use that as an argument for participating in food waste recycling.
Not everyone is motivated to save the planet, but people will be interested in, say, spending less on groceries.
By anticipating residents' pain points and offering suggestions on what to do when a generic solution isn’t working for a household, authorities can ensure enthusiastic engagement.
For example, we’ve traditionally recommended freezing leftovers, but what should you do if you don’t have a freezer? Some things everyone can do include:
- Meal planning
- Write a shopping list and stick to it!
- Being creative with ingredients
- Keeping stems of vegetables in water to help them stay fresh
- Measuring your portions to reduce leftovers by only cooking what you’ll eat.
- Getting imaginative if you do have leftovers – lots of them can be made into sauces or dips
In a carrot-and-stick scenario, a proven stick is to reduce the resident’s residual capacity – either by providing smaller residual bins or reducing the frequency of collection.
Q.3: The cost of food waste collection is higher than other schemes. How can we reduce it?
This boils down to maximising participation. The cost of collection is pretty fixed. Therefore, the key is to maximise the tonnage collected per vehicle by maximising participation.
And, part of that is engaging those who are not using their food waste bins – see our response to Q2.
Q.4: What is the biggest hurdle in delivering separate food waste collections?
In our opinion, once the political decision has been made, the main roadblocks will be the lead time on procuring caddies and vehicles and hiring drivers and crew to manage the collection and delivery.
These can be mitigated with proper planning and early engagement with the market – many suppliers are holding equipment ‘at risk’ in anticipation of the legislation.
If you have any questions regarding food waste collection or anaerobic digestion, we’d be happy to answer them. Get in touch with us to have a chat.
