MORE than 5,000 food caddies have been delivered to people living in flats so they can recycle leftovers for the first time.

Oxford City Council has started providing the caddies to private flats in the second year of a three-year project to roll-out food recycling to all 19,000 of the city’s flats. Over the past year the council has delivered the caddies to all its tenants living in flats – about 500 sites across the city – which has resulted in an extra 70 tonnes of food waste being collected.

The roll-out to private rented flats started last month and will continue into the new year.

John Tanner, board member for the Cleaner, Greener Oxford campaign, said: “Having a caddy and weekly collections is important for people in flats, who usually don’t have the option of composting waste in the garden.”

Tenants and landlords of flats not already part of the scheme can email recycling@oxford.gov.uk