20,000 more homes in Exeter are to be added to the food waste collection scheme which started in 2021.

Over the next three months, homes across Pinhoe, St. Leonards and Heavitree will be receiving their new food bins with instructions on how to use. This comes in the face of tremendous environmental anxiety and concern about the landscape as food waste in Exeter is thought to constitute 38 per cent of a black rubbish bin- with students creating proportionally more food waste than other age groups.

At the moment, food waste is being collected with general ‘black bins’ and sent to the city’s waste plant in Marsh Barton. When food waste is collected separately, it can be processed through an anaerobic digestion facility to break down the food and collect the emitted menthane gas. This ‘biogas’ can then be used to generate electricity and heating for the city. Residual waste can then be used as soil fertilizer so that nothing is sent to landfill.

As part of the scheme, each house will receive a 23-litre curbside caddy and a smaller kitchen caddy for ease and convenience. Households are being asked not to contact the council on the matter, but to wait to be contacted regarding the delivery of their bins and instructions or refer to the Q&A page on the council’s website. Ultimately, the bins will constitute a major step forward for the city’s waste management and environmental activism.