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19 February 2019 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal
The UK's anaerobic digestion (AD) industry has welcomed a new government consultation published this week in which ministers have committed to funding local authorities to introduce weekly food waste collections for all households in England.
The consultation on consistency in household and business recycling collections in England proposes a requirement that from 2023, all local authorities should offer all households a separate weekly food waste collection.
The consultation commits the government to ensure that local authorities are resourced to meet "new costs arising from this policy including upfront transition costs and ongoing operational costs".
The proposals follow the publication of the government's Resources & Waste Strategy in December and come on the back of strong and sustained campaigning by the AD industry and others who have argued the importance of separately collecting inedible food waste so that it can be diverted from landfill for recycling through AD into renewable energy and natural fertiliser.
Charlotte Morton, chief executive of the Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA), said: "The government's commitment to funding weekly food waste collections for all households in England is fantastic news for the UK's efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change."