RESIDENTS of West Oxfordshire are being encouraged to recycle their food waste in a bid to increase recycling rates and divert more waste from landfill.

Starting this week the council’s waste contractors, Kier, will place yellow stickers on all householder waste bins as a reminder to use food containers for leftovers and unwanted food rather than putting food in the household rubbish bin.

Councillor David Harvey said: “The majority of our residents are keen recyclers, but a number of them are still reluctant to use their food waste bins, despite the benefit of having weekly recycling collections. Our contractor will not single anyone out, but will place a sticker on a bin at every property to help get the message across that food waste can be recycled.

“Doing this during the festive period is an ideal opportunity to encourage more people to recycle, especially as the amount of food thrown away increases massively at this time of year.”

Last year, in West Oxfordshire, over 4,000 tonnes of food waste was sent to landfill, costing the council taxpayer over £430,000 in landfill charges.