(best examples and good practices) on household organic waste ...

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The scheme in operation in Wye was the first community compost scheme to
be established in the UK, <strong>and</strong> covers 950 households. Collections from Brook
began in January 1999, <strong>and</strong> the number of householders covered in this area is
70. The scheme is operated by Wyecycle, a community business which is
separate from the local council. Ashford Borough Council’s only involvement in
the scheme is for the payment of the recycling credits. Householders are given
a 10 l bin for use within the kitchen for indoor waste, including vegetable, meat
<strong>and</strong> fish waste. This is then emptied by the householder into an 80 l green
wheel bin. The waste entering this bin consists of both kitchen biodegradable
waste <strong>and</strong>, in the case of Brook, cardboard.
Garden waste, which is collected separately, is collected in second-h<strong>and</strong> potato
paper sacks, which are supplied by Wyecycle free of charge. These paper sacks
are obtained free by Wyecycle from a local potato chip manufacturer. The
green wheel bins for kitchen waste are collected weekly. A grey 120 l bin is
collected fortnightly for mixed waste by the local council. In addition to the
collection of kitchen <strong>and</strong> garden waste, Wyecycle collect glass, paper, metal
<strong>and</strong> textiles on a weekly basis in a black recycling box.
The collection of recyclables is believed to be vital for the success of the kitchen
<strong>and</strong> garden waste scheme. Without a comprehensive collection scheme, i.e.
recyclable wastes as well as kitchen <strong>and</strong> garden waste, it is believed that
residents would be less likely to participate.
The green bins (Picture 51.), although the same size as the grey bins, have a
false floor <strong>and</strong> hence a smaller capacity. The bins were purchased in this way so
that a paper bag could be used as a liner within the bins. This has since been
found not to be required, due to the bins not getting very dirty. Future bins will
be purchased without a false floor <strong>and</strong> will hence have a 120 l capacity. (Success
stories on composting <strong>and</strong> separate collection., 2000)