Mid Sussex District Council is encouraging residents to reduce food waste to ensure that waste management is as environmentally friendly as possible by reducing the District's contribution to climate change, at a time when landfill is fast reaching capacity.

The council wants to encourage residents to reduce their food waste because this type of waste produces a large quantity of methane in landfill, which contributes to climate change. Throwing out food also wastes money - both for residents buying food which is not eaten and for the Council in collecting and delivering unnecessary waste to landfill.

The council has carried out an audit of 30 landfill bins across the district to analyse what people are putting in their bins, and in particular how much is made up of food waste. The research has been undertaken by the Waste and Energy Research Group from Brighton University and the results will be made public shortly.

The samples have been analysed anonymously as is normal with this type of audit, which is carried out by other councils as common practice in designing waste management services.

Leader of the Council Gordon Marples said: "Thanks to our residents' efforts, at 43% our rates for recycling and composting are the highest in West Sussex and among the highest in the country. We are doing really well but can't be complacent. We want to do even better to ensure we are contributing to a sustainable environment by reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfill. The county's landfill sites will be full in the next three to four years.

"Surveys have indicated that up to 30% of waste going to landfill may be food waste. The present exercise will give us firm facts about food waste in our District. This will allow us to plan future waste services, which make it as easy as possible for residents to dispose of their waste with reduced levels going to landfill.

"We would like to reassure our residents that the samples taken from their landfill bins are being analysed anonymously and there is no cause for concern over confidentiality."

The council informed residents at the time that their bins were removed for the audit, rather than giving them prior warning, to ensure that the sample was representative of normal waste disposal. To date the council has received no complaints from residents about the audit.

For more information about the Council's initiative and how to reduce your food waste, visit the council's website at http://www.midsussex.gov.uk/

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