New food waste vehicle hungry for action

10 May 2023 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news

The county’s new food waste vehicle has been named – and it’s quite a mouthful. 

Keen recycling students at Bedlington West End Primary School took part in a competition as part of the council’s food waste recycling trial where it’s collecting the weekly food waste from around 4,500 households across four areas within the county.  

The winning name, suggested by Year 6 pupil Kate, was “The Devourer”, is now emblazoned across the vehicle which travels around Morpeth, Bedlington, Pegswood and nearby villages. 

Kate said: “The truck looks great and I'm proud to be part of helping the environment.” 

These trial areas were chosen 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. 

Councillor John Riddle, Cabinet Member for Local Services, said: “It’s a great choice of name and pretty much sums up what the vehicle does – it swallows all the food waste so it can be taken away to be processed. 

“We’re very pleased with how the trial is going and want to thank all those people who are taking part and have put their food waste out. 
 
“The trial will help us assess the financial, environmental and operational impacts of providing a recycling collection service for food waste, to see if we can extend it across the rest of the county, as well as get feedback from residents and refine the service.” 

Bedlington West End Primary School Headteacher Joanna Ward said: “We are extremely proud of Kate for winning the competition to name the food waste truck.  

“Like many schools we have recycled paper products for years, so when we were asked to be part of the pilot scheme to recycle food waste and help the environment, we jumped at the chance. We already do everything we can to reduce the amount of food waste we have going to landfill sites, including collecting and using food items from local shops and encouraging parents to take left over items home.  

“Separating food waste for collection enables us to do more for the environment and secure a better future for our children.” 

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.   

More details on the food waste recycling scheme can be found at nland.cc/food