A food waste recycling trial is now underway in Northumberland – with thousands of homes taking part. 
 

 As the county council continues its drive to becoming carbon neutral by 2030, the new pilot scheme involves collecting the weekly food waste from around 4,500 households across four areas within the county.  
 
The trial will help the council assess the financial, environmental and operational impacts of providing a recycling collection service for food waste, to see if it can extend the service across the rest of the county, as well as get feedback from residents and refine the service.  
  

The trial area includes parts of Morpeth, Bedlington, Pegswood and some of the nearby villages, with these areas being selected as they offer a cross-section of different households and property types in the county and are also close to the collection operations base in Morpeth.  
  

The first collections have now taken place and have got off to a good start with staff reporting over 4,500 kilograms of food waste being collected in the first week. 
 

Once collected, food waste is recycled at an anaerobic digestion plant. The contents are processed to generate renewable energy and make a natural fertiliser for growing crops.   
 

Councillor John Riddle, Cabinet Member for Local Services, said: “We’re pleased to have got going with this latest recycling trial and want to thank all those people who are taking part and have put their food waste out. 
 

"Initial feedback has been positive and the more data and feedback we can gather will help us refine the trial in the future.”