Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Fifers to receive fewer food waste bags each year

The number of food waste bags being handed to householders is being cut.
The number of food waste bags being handed to householders is being cut.

Fife householders are to receive fewer food waste bags throughout the year to help cut costs, it has emerged.

Three rolls of food waste bags will be delivered to properties every year for Fife Council’s brown food waste caddy, rather than twice a year as at present.

Research into the usage of the bags, which fit neatly into the small brown caddy which can then be transported to the larger outdoor brown bin for kerbside recycling, suggested around half of the bags provided were not being used.

The move to cut the number of food waste bags issued should save the council around £200,000, although it remains to be seen how householders take to the changes.

Ian Gallacher, development officer from Fife Council’s arms-length company, Resource Efficient Solutions LLP (RES), who deliver the food waste bags, said: “About half of the food waste bags provided to households currently are not being used to recycle food waste.

“This means that half of these bags are being wasted.

“Reducing the number of bags provided will reduce the number of wasted bags and will help to meet the wider savings Fife Council has to make in its budget.

“As an alternative, householders can use newspaper or paper bags to wrap food waste. Some food can be put into the brown bin loose, for example dry foods such as bread.

“Many shops stock compostable liners that can be used too, as long as they carry the compostable packaging logo.

“This means that that the bag will compost in our Anaerobic Digestion Plant in Dunfermline and make compost to be used locally.”

Each roll contains 25 bags per roll or the equivalent of one-and-a-half bags per week – a number the local authority feels is sufficient after looking into the matter.

Mr Gallacher added that people should not use standard plastic bags to line their food caddy, as they are not compostable.

“We urge everyone to consider how they might be able to reduce their food waste,” he added.

“Food waste is a major issue– and the average Scottish household throws away £39 of food waste every month.

“The best thing that can happen to food is that it makes it to our plates and is enjoyed.”

Households will receive information explaining the changes to this service at the same time as their next delivery of food waste bags.

Bags are being delivered to homes in central Fife between now and July, with the next scheduled deliveries due to take place in east Fife between July and September and in west Fife between September and December.

According to Zero Waste Scotland, households in Scotland throw away 600,000 tonnes of food and drink from homes every year, and most of this could have been eaten.

That waste costs taxpayers over £1 billion a year, or over £460 for the average household.

Households with five or more people, or an occupant with a medical condition that generates additional food waste, can request an extra roll every 12 months.

Anyone in that situation, or anyone who wants to find out more about the changes, can contact the council’s recycling helpline on 03451 55 00 22 or visit www.fifedirect.org.uk/foodwaste.