Food Waste Collection Hits Target Early
Women's Environmental Network News – Autumn 2006
A CRED funded food waste collection, composting and distribution scheme on the Marks Gate estate in Barking and Dagenham is showing some spectacular results within a short space of time. The scheme complies with the animal by-product regulations and includes cooked meat and fish, and is based in five derelict garages on the estate. It is run by East London Community Recycling Partnership (ELCRP) with Barking and Dagenham Council.
The Marks Gate estate straddles the A12 and is considered difficult to service because of the wide area it is spread over. The ELCRP system uses local labour to collect and compost the food waste, and then distributes the compost locally to improve the estate. Collection is done using trolleys and focuses on the basic principle of keeping it local. "Keeping it local creates local ownership" says Sheila Kearney, the Marks Gate Project Supervisor. "It is this local control that has given rise to a number of blocks delivering an amazing 100% participation - in less than six months the average for the entire estate is already at 40% participation, with the tonnage continuing to rise. The tonnage figure for the first quarter was 8.6 tonnes of food waste and 1.4 tonnes of cardboard diverted from landfill. The food waste alone is set to rise to over 10 tonnes this quarter."