UK tucks in to first food waste recycling reward scheme

Residents in the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead that recycle their food waste will be able to earn points which can be exchanged for vouchers and spent in local shops.


Launched today in partnership with Recyclebank, the scheme is the first of its kind in the UK and is being supported by Department for Communities & Local Government (DCLG) funding.

The borough, which already runs a dry recycling incentivisation scheme with Recylebank, saw its recycling performance grow three times faster than the national average last year.

The new scheme will enable residents that are signed up to the Recyclebank programme to earn 25 points per month in exchange for an online pledge to recycle their food waste. At the end of the quarter, participating residents will earn a bonus for the amount of food recycled in the borough.

The average household throws away around £480 of food a year, rising to £680 a year for a family with children, according to WRAP’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign.

“We’re extremely proud to be the first borough in the UK to launch a scheme of this kind,” said the Royal Borough’s cabinet member for environmental services councillor Carwyn Cox.

“We’ve achieved so much success from working alongside Recyclebank to motivate our residents towards kerbside recycling – the food waste programme is an exciting step further.”

Recyclebank’s director of marketing & communications Rob Crumbie added that the local authority was setting an example for other boroughs to follow.

“This new scheme supports both the local authority and its residents with excellent savings made from those avocado stones and tea bags not making their way to landfill.”

Recyclebank has developed a dedicated landing page for the programme on its website to help educate its members about ways to recycle food waste.

Nick Warburton

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