PUBLIC SERVICES & HEALTH POLICY & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE – 4 MARCH 2010
PART I - DELEGATED
8.
KITCHEN CADDY PROMOTIONS
(DCES)
1.
Summary
1.1
To update Members on the promotional work that has been done to educate
residents on the use of the kitchen caddies.
2.
Details
2.1
In August 2009 Officers started the promotional work to launch the kitchen
caddies district wide. Banners were placed on the sides of the vehicles (see
Appendix A) and a leaflet was written and printed (copies will be available for
Members to view at the meeting) An article was placed in the summer edition of
Three Rivers Times.
2.2
In September 2009 the caddies were delivered throughout the district, with a
leaflet enclosed. At this time the website was updated to include all the relevant
information and a press release was issued (Appendix B).
As the
Communications Department now use social media the information was also
sent out via ‘Twitter’. Posters were also placed on the Council notice boards.
2.3
In December 2009 Officers from Environmental Protection and
Communications, together with the company who designed the new ‘Our
Climate is Changing’ website, made a short film about the kitchen caddies.
This can be viewed by Members at www.ourclimateischanging.com/kitchencaddy or via the brown bin and kitchen caddy page on the Three Rivers
website. A flyer about the new Our Climate is Changing website, was placed in
all of the ‘goodie’ bags given out at the pantomime at Watersmeet. The
Communications Department have also been looking at other ways to promote
the new website. A follow up article was placed in the winter edition of Three
Rivers Times.
2.5
At the time of writing this report, February 2010, instructional posters are on all
of the Council notice boards (copies of which will be available to view at the
meeting) and this was also placed as an advert in the Rickmansworth and
Chorleywood Times. An article is also planned for the spring Three Rivers
Times.
2.6
Officers continue to promote recycling and composting when visiting schools
and other groups. Kitchen caddy information will also be on display at the
Canal and Environment Festival in May.
2.7
The focus of the WasteAware campaign in 2009/10 has been on the issue of
Love Food Hate Waste (LFHW) so there have been numerous events where
the topic of food waste has been discussed. TRDC and WBC jointly ran a
roadshow at Watford Tesco on 18th September. A number of residents asked
about the kitchen caddies, but also took home recipe cards for using up
leftovers and other general information about food waste reduction.
2.8
Officers still receive enquiries regarding the use of biodegradable bags on a
regular basis. Although Officers explain the reasons why residents cannot use
these, and suggest other methods, such as wrapping in newspaper or old
envelopes, or placing in old cardboard boxes, some residents still feel that they
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do not want loose food in their brown bins for two weeks. Officers do then
suggest that food waste is placed in the brown bin on the week it is due, and in
the normal refuse bin on the opposite week, especially during the warmer
months.
3.
Options/Reasons for Recommendation
3.1
Officers will continue to promote the use of the kitchen caddies in order to
encourage as many as possible to compost food waste and reduce the amount
being sent to landfill.
4.
Policy/Budget Reference and Implications
4.1
This report meets the following Council policies (see Strategic Plan) 2.2.2 To
minimise waste and optimise recycling, by exceeding recycling targets and
reducing waste sent to landfill.
5.
Legal Implications, Financial, Website, Equal Opportunities, Staffing,
Community Safety, Customer Services Centre, Communications and
Health & Safety Implications
5.1
None specific.
6.
Environmental Implications
6.1
The introduction of the kitchen caddies will be of benefit to the environment in
that less biodegradable waste would be landfilled, helping Hertfordshire County
Council achieve LATS.
7.
Risk Management Implications
7.1
There are no risks to the recommendation.
8.
Recommendation
8.1
That the Committee note the report.
Report prepared by Jennie Moore, Environmental Projects Officer
APPENDICES
Appendix A – Vehicle signage
Appendix B – Initial press release.
Appendix C – follow up press release
Appendix A – Vehicle signage
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Appendix B – Initial press release.
26 August
Caddies are coming
To make it easier for residents to separate and store food scraps and peelings,
Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) will be delivering a free kitchen caddy to every
household in the district during September. This follows a successful pilot scheme in
Abbots Langley between September and November 2008 when 1500 households
were given a chance to try kitchen caddies, with encouraging results.
These miniature bins are designed to sit on kitchen worktops, where they can be
filled with all types of food waste which might otherwise be thrown into the ordinary
refuse bin. They can then be emptied into the brown wheeled bin for collection by the
District Council, or onto garden compost heaps. The brown bins collected by TRDC
will accept all types of food waste, raw and cooked (including meat, poultry and fish
scraps, bones etc), but it is important to note that only vegetable matter should be
composted at home. For more information about composting at home residents can
visit www.recyclenow.com/compost.
The kitchen caddies are easy to keep clean by rinsing out after emptying, but they
can be lined with newspaper if residents are concerned about smells or mess.
Biodegradable plastic bags or corn starch liners should NOT be used as they break
down at a much slower rate and consequently interfere with the composting process.
It is hoped the new caddies will encourage residents to recycle more of their food
waste using the brown bins. Three Rivers households are already recycling almost
50 per cent of their domestic waste, and the kitchen caddies should boost this figure
still higher.
The kitchen caddies have been purchased through the Hertfordshire Waste
Partnership. 75 per cent of the cost was funded by the Partnership's Waste
Infrastructure Capital Grant, and the other 25 per cent was funded by TRDC.
Purchasing the caddies on a county-wide scale has ensured that they were bought at
the best possible price; the cost to Three Rivers Council Tax payers was just 30
pence per caddy.
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For a full list of what the caddies and brown bins can and cannot accept or more
information about the scheme, residents can visit www.threerivers.gov.uk or ring
01923 776611.
Appendix C – follow up press release
24 November
Caddy your waste
By now, every household in Three Rivers should have received a special kitchen
caddy. These miniature bins are designed to sit on residents' kitchen worktops and
store food waste for a short period of time, to save residents from having to traipse
out to their brown wheelie bin in all weathers. TRDC hopes residents are finding the
caddies useful and easy to integrate into their kitchen routine; here's a quick
reminder of how residents can get the best from their kitchen caddies:

Your caddy does not have to stay full on your worktop for the two weeks
between collections! Whenever your caddy starts to fill up, empty it into your
brown wheelie bin.

Please do not use plastic liners for your caddy (even the ones that are
advertised as biodegradable) because they cannot breakdown at the same
speed as the organic waste and therefore interfere in the composting process.
If you're concerned about keeping your caddy clean and odour-free, rinse it
regularly and line it with newspaper or an old cardboard cereal box. If you use
newspaper, make sure you use several sheets.

Remember you can place all raw and cooked food scraps, peelings (including
bones), tea bags and coffee grounds in your caddy.
TRDC hopes residents are finding their caddy makes life easier in the kitchen. For
more information on recycling collection and / or composting, please visit
www.threerivers.gov.uk or ring 01923 776611. To take the 'leftover love' a bit further,
visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for recipe ideas and storage tips.
The kitchen caddies have been purchased through the Hertfordshire Waste
Partnership. 75 per cent of the cost was funded by the Partnership's Waste
Infrastructure Capital Grant, and the other 25 per cent was funded by Three Rivers
District Council. Purchasing the caddies on a county-wide scale has ensured that
they were bought at the best possible price; the cost to Three Rivers Council Tax
payers was just 30 pence per caddy.
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