Food Waste Collection Trial

Participating households have two food waste containers, a small indoor kitchen caddy (7 litre) to keep inside and a larger food waste bin (23 litre) for you to empty the smaller caddy into and put out for collection.

The food waste is collected weekly on the same day as your residual waste and recycling bins, which is a Friday for participating streets. Place your outside food waste bin at the kerbside with your residual waste or recycling bin before 7am on your collection day. Your food waste is collected by a dedicated food waste vehicle, so will be emptied at a different time of day to your other bins.

You can put most forms of cooked and uncooked food in your food waste bin including:

• Leftover food from meals
• Fruit and vegetables 
• Meat and fish including bones
• Rice, pasta and beans
• Bread, cakes and biscuits
• Solid dairy foods
• Eggs and eggshells
• Pet food
• Tea and coffee bags and grounds

Please do not put liquids, liquid fats, garden waste, straw or animal bedding, cut flowers or packaging of any kind in your food waste bin.

There is no need for your kitchen caddy or food waste bin to smell or attract insects or vermin. Here are some top tips to help keep your caddy fresh:

• Don’t put hot food items in your caddy, leave them to cool off first
• Squeeze tea bags and coffee grinds to minimise moisture before putting them in your caddy
• Line your food waste caddy with kitchen roll or newspaper to help absorb excess moisture. You can alternatively use bags, with small, thin bags that would otherwise go in the bin such as bread or potato bags being ideal
• Sprinkle a little baking soda at the bottom of your caddy to neutralise odours 
• Keep the lids closed and make sure your food waste bin handle is in the locked position with the handle pushed forward, to seal it tight
• Store your food waste caddy and bin away from direct sunlight, and away from heat
• Empty your caddy regularly and put your food waste bin out for collection each week, even if it’s only partially full
• Rinse out your caddy and bin regularly

Your food waste is collected weekly, on the same day as either your recycling or residual waste. Check your collection day here.

If for any reason your bin is not emptied on your collection day, we advise you empty it into your green residual waste bin on that occasion. Because this is a trial, unfortunately we do not have capacity to return for missed food waste bins.

To minimise the chance of bins being missed, ensure it is placed in a prominent position where the collection crew can see it from the roadside. Putting your food waste bin on top of your residual waste or recycling bin so it is above the height of parked cars is also helpful. 

As with all your bins, contamination with items that aren’t supposed to go in that bin will mean that your waste will not be collected. If this is the case, a sticker will be put on the bin advising you to transfer the waste to your green residual bin on this occasion and reminding you that the bin is for food waste only.

Remember, batteries or electronic items should never go in ANY of your bins.

Once collected, food waste is taken to the Biodynamic Anaerobic Digestion plant in Colwick, where it is used to create biogas and fertiliser.
The food waste is turned into a slurry and put in sealed tanks. Bacteria inside the tanks digest the food waste, a bit like the stomach of a cow, which turns it into biogas which can be used as energy and fuel for vehicles. The leftover organic material can also be used as a farming fertiliser, going on to help produce even more food whilst reducing the need for chemical fertilisers.

You can find out more about the plant by watching this YouTube video: Bio Dynamic UK

Food waste that isn’t recycled doesn’t rot down harmlessly, it releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that contribute towards climate change. By recycling your food waste, it goes from being a problem to get rid of, to being a resource that can help tackle issues our society faces today.

We began the trial offering free biodegradable liners to half of the households in the trial area to assess their impact on the quality and amount of food waste we collect. We have now ended this as we found that many residents preferred not to use them, and that these types of liners are also unfavourable for anaerobic digestion.

Most biodegradable bags are designed for composting, which is very different to anaerobic digestion, therefore the biodegradable bags must be manually removed ahead of processing the food waste. Rather than producing a bag especially for single use in food waste collections, if you do wish to use bags, it is better to reuse plastic bags you already have which would otherwise go straight in the bin. Small, thin plastic bags such as bread, potato or frozen food bags are ideal for lining your caddy. Do not use thick plastic bags, such as ‘bags for life’ or black bin liners or leave food in rigid plastic containers. There are also waxed paper food caddy liners on the market which are suitable.

The most sustainable option is not to use bags of any kind. See our top tips in the How do I keep my food waste caddy and bin fresh and clean section for ideas that may mean you choose not to use bags at all.
 

Yes, of course. You should only compost garden waste, uncooked waste vegetables and fruit (e.g. peelings and skins) as well as coffee grounds and tea bags.

All non-compostable food waste, such as meat, fish, small bones, cooked food and dairy products can go into your food waste bin.

For information and advice about how to compost at home visit our website here.

During the trial period you will be able to reorder a replacement kitchen caddy or external bin free of charge if it is lost, stolen or damaged.  You can order a replacement food waste bin or caddy using the ‘Get in Touch’ button at the bottom of this page. 

You may also like to clearly number your food waste bin, to avoid confusion amongst your neighbours and so crews know which property to return it to.