Recycling in the bag with Co-op link

OLDHAM Council has teamed up with the Co-op for a ground-breaking project to get more people recycling food waste.

Shoppers can buy special carrier bags at the checkout for 6p which can be re-used to line food caddies.

When they are full, the bags will be collected by the council which will compost them for use by UK farms as natural fertiliser or home-owners can add them to their own compost bins.

The partnership is the first of its kind in the country and it is hoped that it will help boost recycling rates.

Councillor Mark Alcock, cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, said: “In the last three years, our residents have helped Oldham leap from bottom to third place in Greater Manchester’s recycling table and this scheme should hopefully help us go even higher. Oldham is the largest recycler of food waste in the north of England.”

Iain Ferguson, Co-operative food environment manager, said: “The Co-operative’s compostable bags are the only certified bags of their kind in the UK.

“Partnering Oldham Council in this unique project enables us to respond to our members and customers who tell us that safeguarding the environment is a top priority and, at same time, help the council achieve their environmental targets.”

Benefits of the scheme include improving the availability of food waste bags for residents by increasing the number of stockists in the area, enticing more residents to participate in the council’s food waste service, increasing food waste tonnages being diverted from landfill and enhancing Oldham’s reputation as an innovator in the waste management field.