Food waste familyare hungryfor 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-


Mail site ‘could be turned into


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.


rail-bus centre’ A BUS company believes the imminent closure of Maid- stone's mail sorting office could pave the way for a reshaping of public transport services in the town. The Sandling Road site, next


to Maidstone East rail station car park, may be shut within two years as Royal Mail plans to centralise the county's postal sorting operations in Medway. Norman Kemp, owner of Nu


Venture buses , said: "A devel- oper with vision could use the land currently used by the car park and sorting office to create a proper bus interchange im- mediately alongside the station, perhaps with a new multi- storey car park to the north." He hoped KCC and Maid-


stone Council would take a strategic view of the site.


8 East


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 that meant 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 byBen’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.


Centre’s new owners MAIDSTONE's flagship shopping centre, Fremlin Walk, has been bought by Legal and General Prop- erty for £92m. All stores will continue to trade


as normal. The centre opened five years ago.


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.”


Sweet charitynight will help Mencap


TEST your knowledge and enjoy a slice of apple pie and cream at a quiz night being organised by Maidstone Mencap on Sat- urday, February 19. The annual Apple Pie Quiz will be held at Cobtree Hall, School Lane, (off Willington Street), Mote Park, with doors open at 7pm. Teams consist of six to eight people and tickets cost £5 each. Contact Cath Handley on 07956 332975.


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


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