Food waste family are hungry for more
MAIDSTONE residents are this month em- barking on a recycling revolution by sepa- rating their food waste from other household refuse. The council – currently delivering small kitchen caddies and larger, outdoor lock- able bins to homes throughout the borough – believes it can boost its recycling rates by more than 10% over the next few years. A spokesman said: "We will be able to ac-
cept all cooked and uncooked waste in- cluding meat, fish and bones. “The food waste will be collected every week on your current collection day. There
THE Lindsay family are one of several that have been trying out the new food waste system, prior to the borough-wide launch. And they think it is definitely
the way forward. Dave Lindsay, his wife Clare
and their two children, Megan (10) and Jacob (8) have been tri- alling the scheme since mid-De- cember at their home in Georgian Drive, Coxheath. They have two new bins – a
small caddy in the kitchen plus a bigger, lockable bin outside. Mr Lindsay said: “The one in
the kitchen is quite a good size; not too big but big enough to hold several days’ waste.” Recently, the family had an Indian curry and they had ex- pected an odour to persist, but Mr Lindsay said: “It seems quite air-tight. The smell didn't linger.” There have been photographs
in national newspapers show- ing row upon row of refuse bins in streets. Mr Lindsay. “For some people, having a third bin outside will cause some issues
Waste not, want not. The Lindsay family, dad Dave, Megan, Jacob and mum Clare, recycle leftovers after breakfast.
but this one is not too big and the important thing is that it has a lockable lid. You're not going to have animals get into it, and if it gets knocked over it would not spill on the floor.” The Lindsays have also been
given a roll of potato-starch re- cyclable liners for their indoor caddy. Households will have
THE caddy liners aremade of either potato starch or corn starch and are 100% compostable. They cost up to £2.50 for a roll of 25. Waste collection manager Jenny Gosling said: "Residents do not have to use liners, they may choose to use newspaper or kitchen towel in-
Confident pupils at Palace Wood
MAIDSTONE'S Palace Wood Primary School has been rated satisfactory overall by Ofsted inspectors. But they have spelled out im- provements that should be made, especially in English and maths. The Ofsted report, following November's inspection, says pupils are "confident, polite and friendly and care for each other in this inclusive, cohesive school community". Lead inspector Margaret Coussins pinpoints children's good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage as a strength. But she says progress throughout the rest of the school is "satisfactory" and by the time pupils leave, attain- ment is "average". Pupils' spiritual, moral, social
and cultural development is good, the report adds.
8 Town
the choice of buying placement liners or using old newspapers instead. “The liners felt quite soft and
we thought they might be semi- porous and would leak, but that does not seem to happen. News- papers would be porous, though.” Mr Lindsay said that during
stead. Some may even choose not to line the caddies at all as they are dishwasher safe and easy to rinse out."She said the containers were entirely funded from external organisations, WRAP (Waste and Resource Action Programme) and the Kent Waste Partnership.
THE mother of a Maidstone soldier who died while serving in Afghanistan lent a helping hand at a car wash which raised funds for the Help For Heroes charity. Captain Ben Babington-Browne died in July
2009 following a helicopter crash in Zabul province. His mum Nina was among those who rolled up their sleeves at the nearby BMI Somer- field Hospital in London Road.
THIS year’s Hazlitt pantomime, Beauty and the Beast, has given the theatre its best Christmas season. Theatre manager Mandy Hare
said: “Ticket sales went through the roof.”
will be no need to collect the remainder of your waste so often, so the grey wheeled rubbish bins will be collected fortnightly." He added: "The food waste will be taken
to a local composting facility where it is treated at high temperatures to kill any bac- teria, it is then used on farmers’ fields as a soil improver to grow new crops. "External funding means that the changes
will be cost-neutral to the council and by in- troducing weekly food waste collections and fortnightly refuse collections we aim to in- crease our recycling rate to over 45% by 2015."
The new containers – a 5-litre caddy and
23-litre bin – are being delivered on resi- dents' recycling week as this will mean that their first collection, the following week, will be refuse and food waste. From then on- wards, the refuse and recycling collections will alternate. Since December, the council has been pi-
loting the scheme with members of staff – though not with families directly involved with waste services. One such volunteer was Dave Lindsay, who works in IT. Peter Erlam spoke to him and his family about their experience.
the trial their black bin has been less than half full each week – proving that fortnightly collections of non-recyclables should be sufficient as rotting materials will be collected weekly from the food waste bins. Mr Lindsay explained: “We
have always tried to recycle. We used to wrap food waste in newspapers but thatmeant put- ting a lot more in the non-recy- clable bin. “It's interesting measuring
how much non-recyclables have decreased by putting food in a separate container. “We are only a four-person family but for a six-person fam- ily it will make an even bigger difference.” Mr Lindsay said his children
are into recycling and the food waste scheme helps them to understand its importance. He added: “There has been a
lot of scaremongering in the news and that's one of the rea- sons we wanted to try it. It's been a positive experience. A lot of it is about change. You have to remember when you crack an egg, don't put it in the bin, recycle it.” The family’s verdict of the
trial? “For us, it has worked and has not caused any prob- lems,” Mr Lindsay concluded.
Servicemen heroes remembered by Ben’s mum
Mrs Babington-Browne and the hospital team braved the wintery conditions to wash more than 40 vehicles in exchange for donations, which to- talled about £400. She said: "Help for Heroes is such a vital char-
ity supporting our country’s men and women who are injured during conflict. It is so important we all do what we can to help those brave ser- vicemen and women who have paid the price of
Hazlitt panto is a record-breaker
The panto featured Melissa Suffield, who plays teen Lucy Beale in EastEnders, Ben Free- man (Scott Windsor in Em- merdale) and Danielle Mc- Cormack from the children’s show My Parents Are Aliens.
Stolen mouse leads to court KRISTIANS Makovskis (18) ofWaterside Gate, St Peters Street, Maidstone, was given an 18-month conditional discharge for handling a stolen Apple Magic Mouse. He committed the offence while already subject
to a conditional discharge, which was imposed in March last year for possession of cannabis.
war in some way, and for their family and friends who have been left emotionally scarred." Connie Stocker, the hospital's executive director, said: “I’m very proud of my team who turned out in freezing condi- tions to make it a huge suc- cess.”
Union Street flats proposal
PLANS for a block of eight single-bedroom flats have been submitted for land at Terry’s Yard, 100 Union Street, Maidstone. The joint application from West Kent Housing Association and Appledore Developments Ltd would see the demolition of a number of single storey buildings currently on the site.
To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330
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