Horsham Hot Bins trial given an extension as council looks to cut down household food waste

As much as 40% of rubbish from Horsham households is food waste - the district council has said.

The Hot Bin trial, initially launched by Horsham District Council in the Summer of 2020, has been expanded to include 14 further Recycling Champion families and community groups.

The council hopes to gain a better understanding of how Hot Bins can be used by a broader variety of family units.

Horsham District Council Cabinet member for Recycling and Waste councillor Toni Bradnum said: "Currently some 40% of what residents throw away is food waste. This is a chronic waste of food and also a really bad waste of money in these current times. People really need to try and buy only what they need and not cook too much food for the number of people they are feeding.

“I am really pleased that we are entering the second phase of our Hot Bin trial and am delighted that so many families and groups have volunteered to take part. We look forward to hearing their feedback, particularly from the community groups as this is the first time they have had the opportunity to trial the bins. This will really help us with our research findings."

One of the first community groups to trial the Hot Bin is St Mark’s Church in Holbrook, Horsham.

Reverend Richard Coldicott, vicar of St. Mark's Church, Holbrook, said: “We are delighted to be participating in the community phase of Horsham District Council’s Hot Bin composter trial. As a Silver Award Eco Church, now going for Gold, we are keen to do all we can to help increase recycling rates.

"We will be collecting and weighing peelings, food waste, tea bags and coffee grounds from the vicarage, church and church hall for the Hot Bin. We look forward to using the compost to help us grow fruit and vegetables in the church garden to bless our community.”

The trial this time will use both 200L and 100L bins to test capacity.

Each family will be provided with a Hot Bin suitable for the number of people in their family or community group. They are being asked to provide data and feedback on their activities, sharing their findings on social media.

The data gathered will help inform the Council as to whether this type of home composting is a viable method of reducing residual waste.

This second phase trial will be carried out in partnership with West Sussex County Council who are providing the bins for the trial.

Councillor Toni Bradnum added: "My thanks go out to St Mark’s Church in Holbrook, one of our first community groups taking part, who are really embracing their whole community with this trial.

“We aim to gather the feedback from the families taking part and use the data to inform our understanding of food recycling and perhaps explore promoting Hot Bins at a subsidised price for Horsham District residents going forward.”

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