Results of Food Caddy Trial Revealed
| Published: 3rd July 2008 07:47 |
534 volunteers took part in the trial which ran between January and March 2008. It was organised as part of the Council's research into a new weekly food waste collection service. Part of this research was assessing different methods for containing food waste prior to collection. The ventilated food caddy was deemed appropriate for this trial.
A staggering 75% of volunteers returned their questionnaires and the results showed that 94% of participants who responded were satisfied with the system and 84% said they would continue to use it. 60% stated the trial made them think more about the amount of food waste they generated and interestingly 44% had already taken steps such as smarter shopping, portion sizing and using leftovers to reduce the amount of food waste they produced.
The majority of the volunteers felt that the caddy was the right size, easy to use and performed well. On average, households used 2.28 bin liners per week with the larger households using the most liners.
Comments made by volunteers included:
. "Very good internal system - husband was a bit sceptical about the caddy smelling when I first took it home, he is now converted and he even admits that it never smells".
. "I think the food caddy is fantastic. It is just the right size and the bags are strong. I was amazed that there was no smell off it even though I only emptied it once a week. I will definitely continue to use it".
. "I have used the food caddy/liner for food items which I can't put in my composter, no smells have escaped - not even fish and meat trimmings".
Councillor Stuart Bodsworth, Executive Member for the Environment said: "I am very pleased that the food caddy trial has been such a success. It is clear that the caddies will fit in very well as part of the weekly food waste collection. The massive response and almost universal satisfaction shows how simple it is to use and how hygienic the ventilated caddies are. It's also a great bonus if the caddies can help people waste less food and therefore less money too."
Changes to the Council's waste collection service will take place over the next few years. These changes will include a weekly food waste collection service which will assist in the drive to increase recycling.
For further information about the food caddy trial see the September edition of the Council's Review. For further information about recycling and waste go to www.stockport.gov.uk/waste
