Coventry begins weekly food waste collections for AD

Coventry City Council has begun weekly separate food waste collections as part of the UK government’s Simpler Recycling programme, with the new service starting on 7 September. Food waste collected from households will be transported to an anaerobic digestion (AD) facility, where it will be converted into biogas for renewable electricity generation and nutrient-rich digestate that can be used as fertiliser on local farms. Most households will receive a 23-litre lockable food waste caddy, collected alongside their existing weekly wheelie bin. Flats will instead receive smaller household caddies and use shared communal food waste bins. The service accepts a wide range of food waste, including cooked and uncooked food, meat, fish and bones, dairy products, bread, eggshells, tea bags, coffee grounds, and fruit and vegetable peelings. However, packaging, biodegradable packaging, liquids, oils, fats, garden waste, and pet waste are excluded. The government-funded scheme is designed to divert food waste away from incineration and into anaerobic digestion, producing renewable energy and agricultural fertiliser. Coventry’s rollout therefore represents another step in the expansion of AD-based waste management across England, linking municipal food waste collection with renewable energy generation and resource recovery.