The collection service has been run using electric collection bikes

WESTMINSTER City Council and contractors Veolia have won a top award for a service to collect food waste.

The partnership tackled the complex problem faced by residents in 90 percent of properties that there was not enough room for them all to have a dedicated food waste bin.

A new on-demand doorstep collection service was set up by Veolia, while a ‘neighbourhood’ provision of communal street bins was set up.

Last week, this work was recognised by the Association for Public Service Excellence at its annual awards, which named the council and Veolia as having the Best Public/Private Partnership Working Initiative at the annual Association for Public Service Excellence awards.

Westminster is seen as a unique example because of its ‘ultra-urban environment’ in the heart of the city where the vast majority of people live in flats and have limited space. Many properties in the borough are unsuitable for standard services.

Veolia has also engaged in an “extensive behaviour change programme” to show residents that food waste doe not need to go in the normal refuse. As of August 2024, the food waste recycling service has been successfully introduced to approximately 88 per cent of all residential households – over 113,000 households.

Almost 3,700 tonnes of food waste collected and Westminster’s recycling rate increased by an e 3.7 percentage points this year despite the country’s average declining.

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Cabinet Member for City Management and Air Quality, said:”This is fantastic news and reward for the hard work we provide for our residents every day. Lots of households in Westminster have limited space to recycle food waste so we had to think creatively about providing an efficient and user-friendly service that matched our Fairer Environment and Fairer Communities commitment.

He added: “We are under no illusion that our target to make the city net zero by 2040 is an ambitious one. But, improving recycling rates, including food waste recycling, and decarbonising waste collection vehicles is a step toward achieving our net zero goal. ”

Helder Branco, General Manager for Veolia said: “At the heart of every successful partnership is a common goal, and for Veolia and Westminster it is a passion for delivering services to meet the needs of residents in a very complex and challenging urban area. This has led us to think beyond traditional service models and collaborate to deliver our latest innovations in the neighbourhood and on-demand services.

“We are so proud to deliver on our wider Net Zero and Ecological transformation ambitions through this project, and this award win is a well-deserved recognition of the ongoing dedication and commitment of the recycling and waste collection heroes that work hard to deliver service excellence every day.”