Full brown binroll-out put backuntil autumn

The full roll-out of brown waste bins in Derry won't be complete until autumn, Derry City and Strabane District Council has confirmed.

Last month the local authority said it was working towards the full allocation of food waste bins to all households by summer.

However, the late deployment of brown bins, which Mr. Owen Lyttle, Head of Water Recycling and EU funding, at the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, recently blamed for Derry’s poorer than average recycling rates, has been put back again.

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Council confirmed 30,000 homes already have the bins but the full roll-out of the food caddy scheme is ongoing and a remaining 20,000 households will have their food caddy bins by the autumn of 2017.

However, Derry bin crews will be checking grey and blue wheelie bins for the presence of food from May and if they find any they won’t be collecting them.

From Monday, March 20, a sticker will be placed on black/grey bins informing residents that no food waste can be disposed of in these bins. It’s hoped the implementation of the scheme will help reduce the amount of contaminated waste in blue bins. The council, highlighting the importance of recycling properly, stressed that everyone has a duty to recycle and to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill considering the fact that it costs £45 per tonne to recycle food waste, £76 per tonne to recycle compared to £105 per tonne to go to landfill.

Cllr Colly Kelly, Chairman of the Environment and Regeneration Committee, said by using the food waste caddy it can help reduce the amount of food waste sent to landfill sites.

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“If you have a food caddy bin, please make sure to use it and have it out for collection in a visible location by 7.30am on your collection day.

“Among the items you can dispose of in your food caddy bin are cooked and raw meat; fish; fruit and vegetables; all dairy products including cheese and yoghurt; eggs, bread, cakes and pastries; rice, pasta and beans; uneaten food from your plates or dishes; tea bags and coffee grounds.

“You are reminded not to put any packaging, plastic bags, liquids, oil or liquid fat in your caddy,” he said.

Members of the public who have mislaid their food caddy bin or who want to find out when their area is to be included on the scheme, are asked to contact – [email protected] or telephone 02871374107

Further information on recycling can be obtained at derrystrabane.com/foodwaste