Staffordshire’s new countywide weekly food waste recycling service has got off to “a strong and encouraging start”, according to the first figures released.
The county reported “high levels” of resident participation and “significant” amounts of food waste already being diverted from general rubbish and transformed into electricity and fertiliser.
Since the end of March, the service has begun rolling out across the county, with East Staffordshire, Stafford Borough and Cannock Chase among the first areas to see collections start.
Early results showed strong take-up, with 801 tonnes of food waste collected during April across the operational districts and boroughs.
Newcastle-under-Lyme, which has operated a long-standing weekly food waste service, “demonstrated what long-term participation can achieve”, the county said.
Almost half of households already used the service regularly, recycling thousands of tonnes of food waste each year and providing a model for the rest of the county.
In Staffordshire Moorlands, the service starts on 29th June.
In Stafford borough, where the service launched in mid-April, residents recycled more than 246 tonnes of food waste in the first two weeks.
Collection crews even carried out additional rounds to keep up with demand – a sign that households were “embracing the new service from day one”, the council said.
In East Staffordshire, weekly food waste collections began at the end of March, with households receiving new indoor and outdoor caddies and free liners ahead of the launch, with 196 tonnes of food waste collected during April.
In Cannock Chase, collections started in late April. Early feedback suggested “strong public engagement”, with 85 tonnes of food waste collected in the very first week of operation.
All the councils work together on waste reduction through the Staffordshire Sustainability Board, which has agreed its joint vision and pledges for 2026.
County Coun Andrew Mynors, Cabinet member for connectivity at Staffordshire County Council, said: “It is fantastic to see such a positive response from residents in the first areas where the new food waste recycling service has launched.
“Early take-up has exceeded expectations and shows that people are willing to make small changes at home that can have a big impact across the county.
“Every banana skin, tea bag, plate scraping or leftover that goes into a food waste caddy instead of the general rubbish bin helps us recycle more and reduce waste.
“We want to thank residents who are already using the service and encourage them to keep going every week.”
Food waste collected through the service is taken away from general rubbish and recycled into something useful. In Staffordshire, this means food waste can be turned into renewable energy and fertiliser for local farms and green spaces.
The service also supports wider behaviour change by helping households see how much food they are throwing away, encouraging people to waste less in the first place as well as recycle more.
The next phase of the rollout will see food waste collections introduced in South Staffordshire, Staffordshire Moorlands, Lichfield and Tamworth over the coming months.
County Coun Mynors added: “This is just the start. The early response shows real momentum, but the biggest difference will come from residents continuing to use their caddies week after week.”
Residents can find out more about the food waste service, including what can go in their caddy and when collections are due to start in their area, at staffordshire.gov.uk/foodwaste.
In the Moorlands, households began receiving food waste starter packs this week.
These include a small counter-top caddy and a larger 23-litre caddy to every household in the Moorlands.
Phase one began this week in Biddulph, Congleton Edge, Brown Edge, Endon and Biddulph Moor.
Phase two covers area like Cheadle and Tean, with phase Blackshaw Moor, Leek and Cheddleton.
