TWO leading councillors recently joined a Thurrock Council waste collection team to see how a pilot food waste collection trial is going.

Council leader Cllr Andrew Jefferies and opposition shadow portfolio holder Cllr Valerie Morris-Cook joined crews as they collected food waste bins.

Around 6,000 homes in the borough are currently taking part in a pilot scheme where they have been issued with food waste caddies and locking food waste bins. Food waste is then collected separately to be recycled.

Cllr Jefferies said: "The Environment Act 2021 says that all local authorities will need to collect and recycle food waste. We are looking at plans to introduce separate food collections boroughwide in the future so what we learn from this pilot will be vital in making sure we get that right.

"It was good to meet with crews and learn more about how the pilot is going and hear about the conversations they are having with households taking part.

"It is very important that we learn as much as we can from this so I would urge anyone living in the pilot area, that has been issued a food caddy and outdoor waste bin, to give us their feedback by completing the online survey or letting one of our team know how it is going from their perspective."