Plastic bag offers organics collection alternative

In the United Kingdom, the city council of Peterborough says it anticipates the collection of some 90 metric tons per month of household food waste, along with annual cost savings of around £65,000 ($94,500), following the use of a more standard plastic bag. The new volume represents a 25 percent increase in its collection rate, according to the council.

The council’s new approach includes a switch from biodegradable caddy liners to what it calls “significantly cheaper” standard plastic liners, allowing them to be distributed free of charge to all local residents, thereby encouraging more use of the food waste collection service. Supplied by Leeds, U.K.-based Cromwell Polythene, the seven-liter HDPE liners come in rolls of 40, each roll incorporating a “more bags please” tag to enable re-ordering.

At the same time, what a Cromwell news release calls “advanced separation equipment at the local AD (anaerobic digestion) plant” allows the caddy liners to be removed before the food waste is treated. The AD plant is operated by U.K.-based Biogen Ltd.

“Providing Peterborough’s 82,000 homes with the Cromwell liners free of charge is a viable option, as the price of standard liners is significantly cheaper than biodegradable,” says Amy Nebel, the council’s recycling contracts officer. “Although it is early, we have already seen an increase in the region of 25 percent in February’s tonnage compared to the same period last year.”

Adds Nebel, “As for other cost savings, these will come from the avoidance of landfill and energy from waste disposal costs, as well as a lower gate fee at the AD facility as a result of us capturing more food waste for processing through an incentive provided by Biogen.”

Food waste from the Peterborough scheme is sent to a Biogen AD facility, where it is used to generate renewable electricity for the national grid or is turned into fertilizer for agriculture.