Lancashire Council to launch 'food bins'

Lancashire County Council is planning to introduce new food waste bins from 2010, it has been reported.

Similar initiatives have already been rolled out in Preston and Leyland, with local authorities keen to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill sites, the Lancashire Telegrah reports.

However, Blackburn with Darwen council bosses are keen to go their own way and build an incinerator.

Councillor Tony Martin, cabinet member for the environment, told the newspaper: "We were all disappointed that Blackburn decided to pull out of the deal just a few weeks before we all signed it.

"They are looking things like incineration, which Defra will tell you is a good way to get rid of waste, but on the other hand the climate change scientists say the carbon footprint is enormous."

Authorities in Blackburn and Darwen were said to be concerned that the bins would attract vermin.

According to figures from the Waste and Resources Action Programme, British households produce around 6.7 million tones of food waste every year.