Co-op urges councils to speed-up home food waste collections

The Co-op is urging local councils to speed-up the implementation of food waste collections from homes as approximately 1,000 tonnes a day ends up in landfills.

Currently 156 English councils (48%) do not have a kerbside food waste collection meaning that food waste in these areas is going to landfill.

The Co-op has also written to 20 local authorities calling on them to invite them to change their view on accepting compostable bags, to reduce plastic contamination and the amount of food waste going to landfill.

The retailer also became the first national supermarket to make compostable bags available, with over 1,000 stores giving out the bags in communities where they are accepted by the Local Authority in the household food waste collections.

Michael Fletcher, CCO at Co-op said: “How we do business really matters. The world is experiencing a climate crisis and we need to work together to avoid it. Accelerating action is the only way to mitigate and reduce impacts on our natural world, and to ensure stable food supply chains in the future.

“We are committed in helping our members and customers to make environmentally friendly choices and reducing the environmental impact of products is and always has been at the core of Co-op. That’s why we are writing to local authorities to encourage universal kerbside food waste collections and acceptance of compostable bags, sooner than 2023.”