A council has announced it is to apply for Government cash to further boost recycling rates.
Durham County Council is to formally express an interest in receiving funding through the Government’s Weekly Collection Support Scheme.
The authority is currently in the process of harmonising collection arrangements across the seven former district council areas and introducing alternate weekly collections throughout the county.
The system, which sees waste collected one week and recycling the next, has been operation in the Derwentside area for some time, where it has helped increase recycling and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.
A waste and recycling survey carried out in December 2010 showed that 74 per cent of residents in the Derwentside area felt the service had improved since alternate weekly collections were introduced.
The changes are expected to save the authority in excess of £9m and potentially up to £12m over the five-year period to 2017.
The council is expressing an interest in Government funding to provide a weekly collection of segregated food waste on a trial basis. The money available would only fund collections in part of the county.
The food collected would be recycled at an anaerobic digestion plant in the county to provide electricity.
If the bid is successful, the food collection service would be provided on a trial basis in part of the county
Terry Collins, Durham County Council’s director of neighbourhood services, said: “The move to alternate weekly collections will have significant benefits for both residents and the public, through major financial savings, an increase in recycling and a reduction in waste sent to landfill
“However, a separate collection of food waste would further increase our recycling performance, would remove biowaste from the waste stream and reduce treatment costs as well as providing a clean source of electricity generation in the county.”
