In my post: Erratic Recycling Isn’t Impressive, I complained about how a lady I work for doesn’t have a food waste collection at her home. Today when I arrived at work I was happy to see a neat little brown box sitting outside her door… At last! I thought: the council have come to their senses and provided proper waste disposal services throughout my town. Way to go, Mendip! Smiling, I brought it into her kitchen and enquired about it’s arrival. She told me it wasn’t actually from the council at all… Basically one of her other helpers (who lives in the part of the town that does have this service) had ordered a second food waste bin for herself and given one to my boss. She apparently said she would take it once a week and put it outside the shop that she works in, where they do collect food waste on a weekly basis.
I was struck by two things- firstly, the continued ridiculousness of my local council providing varying levels of waste collection throughout one small town, and secondly, a respect for this lady that was prepared to go out of her way, doing the council’s job for them, to make sure somebody else’s (not even her own) waste was composted and not just send to landfill.
My motto is that we need to make the green way the easy way. However, isn’t it inspiring when you see people taking the green way even when it’s not easy but in fact quite a hassle? Well it cheers me up, anyway. This little story may of even made me proactive enough to write a letter to my council, explaining the whole thing and asking for the situation to be amended.
We will have universal composting facilities yet!
Earth Baby 
We don’t have food waste collection here either. Either you compost your food waste or stick it in with the regular garbage to be picked up. Where I last lived my landlord refused to allow me to have a compost bin, said it would attract rodents. He said that’s what the dumpster was for. So many people feel this same way. It drives me nuts.
Yeah, that would drive me crazy too. This attitude is so backward and outdated but sadly still has the majority in many countries. I’m soon moving to Brighton, which is the only city in the UK to have a Green Party MP – so I really thought they’d have a food waste collection but I don’t think they do.. I’ve seen a company called Conscious Composting which supplies small inside compost bins complete with special microorganisms to compost the food for you.. So I might check them out and get one of them.
Hello both
Its great to hear this, and I implore you to make your feelings known to each of your councils.
I have specialised in food waste for several years.
The fact is that evolution aka mother nature was always expecting this waste to come back. One way or another.
By mixing waste food with batteries and other dreadful wastes we contaminate it forever. Breaking the natural cycle of this planet.
There are many benefits to the householder, if they recycle food…getting their smelly waste into a safe weekly bin (using my BioBags – shameless plug!) shocking them into buying and using food more carefully, and saving the council a good deal in landfill costs.
It used to be difficult as its a very specialised industry, very carefully licenced, to prevent food disease going back onto land. But its now more widely available.
And it used to be moaned about in the press (to sell papers) and made to sound unpopular.
THAT is where you come in.
Councillors need to be certain that their public want this, before they re-assign public money. You cannot blame them for being cautious.
One glance at their website reveals some silly and inaccurate ideas on this subject.
In my opinion, their understanding of your opinion is out of date. The general public now want to recycle and have a bigger apetite for it than only a few years ago.
YOU must tell them what you want them to do with your council tax.
Silence is assent.
Best of luck.
David