Witney News - Find out what happens to your food waste on free tour

Find out what happens to your food waste on free tour

In the run up to Christmas, West Oxfordshire residents are invited to a free tour of the Agrivert's food waste plant to find out what happens to food leftovers collected weekly by the Council.

Booking is essential for the popular hour-long tour on 10.30am Wednesday 9 December at the anaerobic digestion plant at Cassington.

Cllr David Harvey, the Council's Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “Our recycling collections always rise significantly around Christmas and so this is good time of year for people to see what happens to their food waste and how it’s put into good use.”

“Last year we collected 3,200 tonnes of food waste from our residents - this was all taken to be recycled. The free tour gives a great insight into what happens once your food waste bin has been emptied.”

All food waste in West Oxfordshire is collected weekly and recycled locally, instead of being landfilled.

It is taken to an anaerobic digestion plant where it is recycled into a liquid fertiliser called 'digestate' for use on local farmland and renewable electricity is generated as a by-product during the process.

The Cassington plant processes food waste from across Oxfordshire and creates fertiliser for local farmers to use, along with enough electricity to power 4,000 homes on an on-going basis.

Householders that do not have a free food waste bin and kitchen caddy, or are unsure of how to recycle their food waste, should contact the District Council.

To book a place on the tour, or for further information about waste and recycling in West Oxfordshire, call 01993 861000 or visit: www.westoxon.gov.uk