The public has been thanked for their cooperation with the contentious new waste collection scheme in Swindon. 

Since it was brought in at the end of November, the new waste and recycling process has been troubled by delays and missed collections. 

But in a recent update, Swindon Borough Council has confirmed that 600 tonnes of food waste have been collected so far,

This has saved the authority around £90,000 in disposal costs, when compared to the previous scheme.

A council spokesperson said: "A big thanks to all Swindon residents for your continued efforts since the rollout of the new waste and recycling service."

The council explained food waste is taken to Codford Biogas in Wiltshire, where a process called anaerobic digestion is used to break down the food waste.

As it breaks down it gives off methane, which is collected and converted into biogas, which is used to generate electricity.

It also creates a nutrient-rich digestate, that is used as a fertiliser for agriculture and in land regeneration.

But as streets in Swindon continue to see their waste and recycling go uncollected, the council has also further acknowledged the work being done to resolve the situation. 

The spokesperson said: "Our crews continue to work hard, including on Saturdays, to catch up on the backlog of recycling collections.

"We’re also addressing an oversight when planning the new route changes introduced last November.

"After identifying that several thousand homes were missing off the database used to plan the new collection routes, extra vehicles were brought in to support interim collection arrangements for those properties.

"In parallel, we are now re-working our routes with all these properties included.

"Orders have been placed for brand new vehicles to accommodate the additional rounds and our current additional capacity will remain until these vehicles are ready to roll out. Thank you for your patience."

Earlier this week, councillor Chris Watts, cabinet member for the environment and transport, tabled a report as part of a Q&A session with the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

This comes after it was revealed that waste collection crews were being met with anger and abuse on their rounds because of ongoing issues. 

Mr Watts said: "They have had some problems out in the street but they’ve dealt with it very professionally and I think most people realise that it’s not them that brought this system in.

"They’re just out there trying to make the best of it. I think the crew is doing a fantastic job."