Rutland County Council has announced they have collected almost 90 tonnes of leftover and unused food in just two weeks, following the launch of the authority's new food waste collection.

Starting on Monday 30 March, the first day of operation saw crews collecting 9 tonnes of food waste.

Within a fortnight, a total of 89.92 tonnes of food had been collected from Rutland's towns and villages - about the weight of seven double-decker buses.

Cllr Oliver Hemsley, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport at Rutland County Council, said: 'The huge amount of food that we've collected in just two weeks shows that the new food waste service is needed and working well.

'I'd like to thank residents for embracing this important change. That's 90 tonnes of food waste that has gone to help produce green energy, instead of being incinerated.

'Now the new collections are in place, we also hope people will get a better sense of just how much food they may have been wasting. Recycling food is better than throwing it away as household waste. However, the ultimate goal must be to help households cut down on food waste as much as possible.'

Rutland County Council wants to remind residents of the need to use compostable or biodegradable bags inside their food waste caddies.

For more information about all of Rutland's waste services, go to: www.rutland.gov.uk/recycling

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