Petition for Hastings council to recycle food waste

The petition follows a survey by the party of households in the Old Town ward, which found food waste was one of residents’ main concerns.

Hastings Borough Council said the process can be expensive and urged people to cut down food waste and use composts.

But the Greens say it has many advantages including reducing the mess on the streets caused by gulls tearing open rubbish bags for food.

“We welcome the fact that over the past few years, Hastings council has greatly increased the types of waste that can be recycled by local residents,” Hastings Green Party spokesman Judy Scott said.

“Now we’re asking them to go further, to look at recycling food waste, in order to reduce both the mess on our streets and the greenhouse gas emissions caused by putting food waste into landfill.

“We know from our survey that this is a key concern of local people, and encourage residents to sign our petition.”

Collecting and recycling food waste minimises the use of landfill, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and provides a useful source of compost, the party claim.

Government figures show households in the UK throw away more than seven million tonnes of food and drink every year, much of which could be recycled.

Around half of local authorities provide food waste collection and recycling services, including Lewes District Council which started in 2013, and estimates that over five years, it will save the equivalent of 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from going into the environment.

A HBC spokesman said: “We are keen to promote the most environmentally friendly options.

“Collecting food waste can be expensive, and collecting and then transporting food waste around the county for processing isn’t a very environmentally friendly option.

“It would mean buying additional lorries to collect and move the waste, resulting in more large vehicles on the roads, and consequent additional fuel emissions.

“We ask householders to take some responsibility for tackling the problem by simply not wasting as much food in the first place.

“This would also save money for residents, as they wouldn’t be wasting money on food they didn’t really need.

“We also encourage householders to try composting where possible.

“We know this isn’t suitable for everyone, but composting bins can be accommodated in even small gardens.

“Eliminating/composting food waste is far preferable to buying more trucks to collect and transport it.”

The petition can be found here.

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