Hundreds more Ealing residents are expected to start using the food waste collection service from their homes this week.

Ealing Council has begun operating the successful scheme in six more areas, including West Ealing and parts of Hanwell and Greenford. The Council is one of only a handful of local authorities in London to run a free borough-wide food waste collection service for residents.

Residents will be able to put meat, fish, cooked and raw food, bones, vegetable and fruit peelings, dairy products, egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds in the food waste bin to be collected and turned into compost. The sealable food bin prevents spills and smells and protects the contents from vermin such as rats and foxes.

The food waste collection service was launched last October and is now available across almost the whole borough. So far, more than 600 tonnes of food waste have been diverted from landfill.

Currently, around 24% of an average household bin in the borough consists of unwanted food. If this is composted instead of sent to landfill, this will bring huge environmental and financial benefits. The waste is converted into compost in a special facility which uses heat to destroy weeds and speeds up the decomposition process; the compost is available for sale in Ealing, providing a material which does not cause environmental damage (as peat cutting may do) and does not create pollution by having to be transported over long distances. Also, the council saves money because it will have to pay less in landfill taxes and possible future fines. The money saved can be spent on improving schools and making better roads, for example.

Earl McKenzie, Ealing Council's head of waste management, said: 'Our food waste scheme is now available across almost the whole borough. It has already been very successful and more people have begun using it every week.

'We also know that residents in the wards which have just come on board are really keen on it and will see for themselves just how easy it is to use.'

The food waste scheme began in the following six wards from this week: North Greenford, Southfield , Elthorne, and half of Dormers Wells, Ealing Common and Hobbayne.

People living there would have received a free, sealable food waste collection bin from the council, with information on how to use it. They would have also been advised on when their weekly collections take place.

The scheme will be available in the three remaining wards and other halves of Dormers Wells, Ealing Common and Hobbayne in June.

If residents have received a food waste bin but are unsure of their collection day, they can call Ealing Customer Services on 020 8825 6000.

May 27, 2006