Food waste collection questions and answers

Do I have to take part in the food waste service?
No, but we hope that everyone will consider the service, especially if they do not have a home composter.

Why is the council changing the collection service again?
Around a quarter of all the waste that currently goes to landfill is food waste. This produces methane, a greenhouse gas that adds to global warming. To address this, an ‘In-vessel Composter’ has been built to recycle food waste and turn it into compost.
The government sets landfill reduction targets on all councils. If the council fails to meet these targets we will be fined. These fines could increase council tax.

I am totally confused about this new food waste recycling service. Can you sum it up for me?
If you have a green wheelie bin, you simply need to place all your raw or cooked food waste straight into your bin.

For your convenience, we are providing you with a kitchen caddy that you can use to collect your food waste in, before transferring the contents into your green bin.  

If you are not served by a green wheelie bin service, you will have been given a larger ‘kerbside caddy’ for your food waste. This is in addition to your small kitchen caddy.  

Cardboard will no longer be accepted in your green wheelie bin, as it affects the composting process. Therefore, we are also providing you with a re-usable brown bag to put your flattened cardboard in.

I prefer to use my home compost bin for all my vegetable and fruit peelings - is that all right?
Yes, please continue to do this.

I have always put some cardboard in my compost bin. Can I still do this?
Yes, please continue home composting, as it is the best way to dispose of several items in your household waste.

Can I put pet food into my green wheelie bin?
Yes.

Can I put liquid like soup into my green wheelie bin?
No, just food please.

Does my food waste need to be wrapped up?
No, it can all go directly into your green bin. However, if you’d prefer, you can use a sheet of newspaper or some kitchen roll to wrap your food in. You can also buy corn starch bags to line your kitchen caddy (a list of stockists is available on our website). These bags should show the logo ‘EN13432’, which indicates that they will break down within the correct specified period. Please do not use plastic bags.  

When will my collections take place?
Food waste in your green wheelie bin will take place on your normal green bin day.
Brown bags and food waste from your kerbside caddy will be collected on your usual recycling collection day (along with your green box and green bag).

Can I put my kitchen caddy out for collection with my green box and bag?
No. Please empty the contents of your kitchen caddy into your green wheelie bin or larger kerbside caddy and put it out for collection on your normal day.

Can I put my kitchen caddy out for collection instead of my green wheelie bin?
No, please use your green wheelie bin. Due to the design of the larger refuse vehicles that are on these rounds, we cannot empty your kitchen caddy waste into them, because of health and safety reasons.

My green wheelie bin containing food waste has been missed. Can you come and collect it?
It is the customer’s responsibility to have all their waste and recycling containers out before 7am on the day of their collection.. If you are late in putting your bin/box/bag/caddy out, we will be unable to come back until your next collection is due. However, if it was out and we missed it, please contact us so that we can make arrangements for its collection.

I don’t have a green wheelie bin and I have not had any other containers delivered to me. What do I do?
If you do not have a green wheelie bin, you should have received a kerbside caddy.
If you haven’t, please get in contact with us so that we can make suitable arrangements.

I live in a flat, so will I be able to use the service?
Yes, the service is available to everyone in the district. If you don’t have space outside to store a green wheelie bin, you can have a kerbside caddy for your food waste. If you haven’t been given one already, please get in contact with us so that we can make arrangements for you.

What will happen to the food waste collected?
The food and garden waste will go to an In-vessel Composter at Deepmoor, where it will be made into compost.

What will the compost be used for?
It will be used to enhance the soil of local farm land.

Is the council going to sell the compost?
No. The compost generated is the property of Viridor Waste Management.
They will make the compost available to local farms to start with.

How do you know the compost is safe?
The advantage of this process is that the compost is stored in vessels (tunnels) and is designed to achieve and maintain specified temperatures to completely break down the content. This is in accordance with requirements of animal by-products regulations that prevent animal by-products from presenting a risk to animal or public health.

Are we the first to have this type of collection?
No, there are other authorities that already have a food waste collection and send their waste to in-vessel compost plants. These plants have been operating for several years and the compost produced is regularly tested to ensure all legal requirements and standards are met.

For full details of the service, see the food waste collection page.