THE last of 70,000 “kitchen caddies” will be delivered this week, ahead of the launch of Bolton Council’s food recycling programme.

The caddies come with 52 biodegradable bags, which people will be asked to place in their green bins once they have filled them with waste food.

After a one-off outlay of £280,000, it is hoped the caddies will save the council £850,000-a- year in landfill costs.

Green bin collections will now continue thr- oughout the winter mon- ths, and the annual cost of the service will be £329,000.

The council said it had so far had positive feedback from residents, and the arrival of the food caddies has also prompted close to 1,000 orders placed for other recycling bins.

Donna Ball, assistant director of Bolton Council’s environmental services department, said: “I hope it will change people’s habits and people will start throwing away less.

“We are wasting a lot of food nationally.

“It’s about £10 a week that we throw away, and it’s often down to the BOGOF offers — the buy one get one free offers, and you buy food you don’t need.

“We’ve had very little negative response. Peo- ple have been calling up asking questions about what they can, and cannot, put in the food caddy.”

Only food packaging and liquid oils are rul- ed out by the council.

The start-up kit is costing the council around £2 per household, with the bins costing just 85p, and a roll of 52 bags £1.17.

The bags should last around six months, with the average hous- ehold expected to use two per week.

Additional rolls will be provided by the council, free on request, although this service is expected to be phased out once the food recycling scheme is fully fledged. The bags are also available at major supermarkets.

The council currently recycles around 30 per cent of the bor- ough’s waste, but is aiming for 40 per cent.

The service is officially launched on October 3.