Waste bosses launch food bin trial for people living above shops in Hackney

A communal food bin in Hackney. Photograph: NLWA

Residents living above shops in Hackney are saving food scraps in a trial designed to slim people’s bins.

North London Waste Authority (NLWA), which is owned by seven councils, is working with 400 families across the borough.

Space is at a premium for homes above shops and there is often no room for storage bins at street level.

Instead, people put their rubbish and recycling in bags on the street just in time for collection.

According to NLWA, the average family bins 241kg of food waste a year.

It is encouraging people to slim their bin and use leftovers.

Campaigners are concerned about the amount of food people throw out because of “best before” dates.

According to the government, people should follow the “use-by” guidance which shows when food is safe to eat.

The advice is that people should “never eat food after the use-by date, even if it looks and smells okay, as it could make you very ill”.

It states: “You can eat food until midnight on the use-by date shown on a product, but not after, unless the food has been cooked or frozen.”

The trial will test out different kinds of bins to see which are the most successful, and food scraps will be collected weekly.

Food waste collected in the special caddies will go to an anaerobic digester and turned into biogas for fuel or fertilisation.

NLWA will also survey residents and said the proof in the pudding will be the tonnage of food waste collected and whether it is contaminated with non-food waste.

Hackney’s cabinet member for the environment and transport, Cllr Mete Coban, said “reducing food waste is one way that households can reduce emissions”.

Trials are also underway in Islington, where residents living above shops on Holloway Road are testing out the scheme.

Martin Capstick, NLWA’s chief executive, told Islington councillors recently that one of the challenges is avoiding contamination from people putting rubbish in the food bins.

“Our focus is on reduction and on not buying what you are not going to use,” he said.

Feedback will help develop the scheme for other areas.

Residents in houses in both boroughs already have food waste collected from caddies at their doorstep.