If you are involved within the waste industry, much like ourselves, you will also be on tenterhooks awaiting to hear about the ever-changing government legislations on EPR, DSR and the Consistency of Collections Scheme. There seems to be little to no changes, and many of these have come to a screeching halt and dates continually being push back, and with changes in the government, the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be edging further away. Last month, Defra announced a new development, which was the replacement of consistent collections with “Simpler Recycling”, ‘Defra says Simpler Recycling scraps the “top-down” approach and ensures a requirement to recycle with seven bins will not happen’. Many throughout the industry share a communal sigh of relief, but yet still await for information on what will happen next. Despite these reforms still being up in the air, Local Authorities have begun to make changes to their waste management strategies and have started to up their recycling game!
Food Waste Trials
In 2020, less than half of the UK Local Authorities offered food waste collections to their residents. Since this report, many more have began offering kerbside collections for food and organic waste, and even more councils are discussing trials of the collections. The newly named ‘Simpler Recycling’ is set to encourage the collections of food waste across the country for correct disposal and recycling, which means the local authorities already offering it, or starting to do so are ahead of the game. The basic strategy of household collections of food waste is to supply residents with a kitchen or counter top food caddy, which they can fill with their peelings, teabags, leftovers and any other unwanted food. Alongside the bin, many local authorities also supply their residents with a liner to help capture the waste, with many opting for a compostable liner.
Compostable bags are a popular solution for food capture, they are a cost-effective option, which sees a great result in both the quality of waste & minimal instances of contamination. Many councils have seen an increase in participation rates and a reduction in contamination when a compostable liner is offered to their residents. Cromwell supply our EN13432, fully compostable and biodegradable liners to a flurry of councils, up and down the country. We offer a range of sizes from the smallest 5L and 7L liners to fit the standard sized caddies, to a larger 240L to fit a wheelie bin, which many different sizes in-between.
The Innovative Ribbon!
Last year, as the compostable liners became more popular, we introduced a new ‘re-order’ ribbon to our popular 5L and 7L liners. The brainchild behind the ribbon was to make the re-ordering of liners an easy and seamless process for both the waste team and the households. These liners are packed in individual sealed rolls and with a bright yellow ribbon inside, the ribbon which is itself compostable, can then be tied onto the bin on collection day to indicate a new pack of liners is needed for this residence. After trials with residents and showcasing them at events such as LARAC and The Cleaning Show, they proved popular with local authorities, many changing from their standard liners to the new ribboned ones.
Here are the benefits:
- Brightly coloured re-order ribbon to improve visibility.
- Extended shelf-life with individual roll wrap.
- All liners are more likely to be used, due to the access of the ribbon which will minimise wastage.
- These combined should maximize the waste collected and participation rate.
The cost of the compostable outer and ribboned strip against the standard liner is ~2% more. However, the above, additional benefits to the inclusion of the ribbon, coupled with the ease of the re-order process offsets the additional costs and the wrap more than pays for itself. Ask our team for a free sample of our re-order ribbon compostable liner, and have a trial in your area, up your food waste collection game with the help of Cromwell!