| Buckinghamshire Council’s separate food waste collections for the Chiltern and Wycombe areas will restart from Monday 13 December. From this date households should put out their food waste in its separate brown bin on their usual collection day.
A shortage of HGV drivers, coupled with Covid-related sickness amongst crews, meant the service was temporarily suspended in August, with food waste instead being collected as general rubbish. The council’s waste contractor has worked hard to recruit new drivers, with incentives designed to retain existing staff and attract new staff to vacancies that have now been filled. This means that once more food waste will be separately collected by dedicated teams. Material will again be treated at an anaerobic digestion plant, where it generates electricity. Cllr Peter Strachan, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and the Environment, said: “Thank you to residents in the Chiltern and Wycombe areas for your patience while we dealt with the impact of the nationwide shortage of HGV drivers. It was clear during this time that many households were as keen as the council to see the return of the separate food waste collections as soon as possible. Your cooperation with these interim arrangements, whilst not ideal, has been appreciated. I welcome the efforts taken by all involved which have enabled us to return to separate food waste collections.” During the suspension, food waste was taken along with general waste to the Greatmoor Energy from Waste plant for incineration, generating electricity in the process. Less than 0.1% of Buckinghamshire’s waste is sent to landfill. More information about the council’s waste collections can be found at: www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/bin-collection-recycling-and-waste
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