Newcastle and Durham councils to start collecting food waste

Two North East’s councils are moving towards collecting and recycling food waste.

Newcastle City Council is introducing a weekly food waste recycling service to generate renewable energy and produce a fertiliser to grow crops. The trial will initially take in 5,200 households in the Kingston Park South, Newbiggin Hall, Blakelaw, West Fenham, Benwell and Scotswood and Wingrove wards.

Meanwhile, Durham County Council’s cabinet will hear that options have been considered for collecting food waste and that weekly collections in a separate specialised vehicle – called a stillage vehicle - would be the most cost effective and efficient option..

READ MORE:Wildlife teams celebrate success at Northern nature reserve

READ MORE:Labour holds on to win Gateshead Council by-election despite winter fuel allowance fears

Coun Mark Wilkes, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and climate change, said: “For every tonne of food waste that is recycled, 0.5 to 1 tonne of carbon dioxide is prevented from entering the atmosphere. Not only that, but the recycling process produces a biogas and biofertliser which can be used for energy and farming.”

Coun Marion Williams, cabinet member for a sustainable city on Newcastle City Council said: “This new service is part of our commitment to combat climate change and improve recycling rates. By introducing this trial, we are helping to reduce the amount of waste that is sent to landfill which helps to improve our environment.”

Food waste makes up around a third of the average household waste bin. The trial will allow all cooked and uncooked waste to be recycled, which must be removed from any packaging

Food waste will be collected in a new kitchen caddy, using the free caddy bags provided, and then transferred to a new outdoor food waste bin, which will be collected weekly. Collections for the trial will begin on September 17 with the aim to roll it out to the whole city in 2026.

New legislation includes a requirement for all councils to introduce weekly household food waste collections by March 31 2026, and by March 2025 for large businesses.

The stillage vehicles proposed by Durham County Council have small compartments, which would also make it possible to collect small batteries and used vapes from households. Residents will be contacted about their collection date and provided with containers ahead of household food waste collections coming into place in 2026.