Council Celebrates Food Waste Recycling Trial Success

A recent report published by Zero Waste Scotland highlights the success of a pilot food waste recycling trial undertaken by South Ayrshire Council's Waste Management team.

In partnership with Zero Waste Scotland, the team conducted an engagement exercise which aimed to increase the rate of food waste recycling within three areas of Ayr.

The trial implemented three low-cost measures - placing 'no food waste' bin stickers on residual bins; providing food caddy liners to households within the targeted areas; and issuing guidance to householders regarding food waste recycling. Using compositional analysis, the impact of these measures found an increase in food recycling rates across all areas, with households using the bin stickers performing best, reporting a 42% rise in food collected; and users of food caddy liners found an increase of 14.4%.

South Ayrshire Council's Policy Lead for Commercial/Operational Services, Councillor Alec Clark, said: "The opportunity to collaborate with Zero Waste Scotland on the Food Waste Pilot Project provided a valuable platform for change. The project enabled us to increase participation within the pilot areas and assess the effectiveness of different engagement interventions with residents.

"I'm delighted with the results and I look forward to seeing these strategies implemented on a wider scale across South Ayrshire."

South Ayrshire Council's Policy Lead for Housing and Property Services, Councillor Martin Kilbride, said: "The success of the food waste recycling trial was fantastic and provided valuable insight into what works best when engaging with residents. 

"I'd like to thank Zero Waste Scotland for their support and guidance throughout the trial.  

"Recycling food waste is a simple, yet extremely important way of reducing our carbon footprint and protecting our environment, locally and on national scales. These results will aid future initiatives as we continue to work towards national recycling targets." 

Zero Waste Scotland's Head of Resource Management Stuart Murray commented: "Supporting local authorities to maximise recycling performance is a core part of our ambition to rewire Scotland's economy.  

"This new evidence shows that simple, low-cost measures can have a significant and lasting impact on food waste recycling, which we hope can be replicated across the country."