New Separate Food Waste Collections

Under the new service, food waste will still be collected weekly and used more efficiently. In 2024, up to 20% of the household rubbish put into our non-recyclables bins in Rochford District was food waste.

The benefits of collecting food waste separately include:

• Generating electricity and fertiliser; Food waste can be turned into electricity and fertiliser for farming.
• Reducing methane emissions; Recycling food waste instead of burying it in landfill reduces the amount of methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) released into the atmosphere.
• It’s cheaper; Every time we compost a lorry load of food instead of sending it to landfill.
• Less waste going to landfill; Separating food waste ensures we are sending less to landfill

The current system is both expensive and no longer the best way of handling either material. Sending food waste for digestion and garden waste for traditional open composting is much more effective and produces better results.

No, it’s important you do not put your food waste into your compostable wastebin. We’ll no longer collect food waste which has been put into compostable waste bins because it will now be treated using a different composting process.

We will collect the food waste from your food waste caddy on a weekly basis. The food waste will be taken to the East London Biogas where it is turned into fertiliser for farming and energy. The new service will turn food waste from a problem into a resource.

You will have a food waste caddy (25 litre) for you to put outside for collection.

The food waste caddy is collected weekly on the same day as your household waste and recycling bins. Place your food waste caddy at the edge of your property with your non-recyclables or recycling bin by 7am. Your food waste caddy will be collected by a different vehicle and at a different time of the day.

Collecting food separately means we can take your food waste to an anaerobic digestion processing plant where it is used to create renewable energy and produce a nutrient rich fertiliser. In addition, by recycling your food waste weekly your compostable bin will be cleaner, less smelly.

We do and we are proud to support the Love Food Hate Waste campaign. Wasting food is a waste of money; the average household throws away £600 a year in food waste! It’s also an unnecessary waste of energy and natural resources which went into the production, packaging and transportation of that food. The Love Food Hate Waste website (Link) is full of hints and tips that can help us all to save money and food.

However, even with the best of intentions, most of us have some food waste that can’t be eaten or home composted, such as bones, dairy products or food that has gone off and we can now use this waste to generate energy.

What CAN I put in my food waste caddy?

• All raw and cooked food waste including leftovers and spoilt/mouldy food:
• Fruit and vegetable peelings
• Raw and cooked food
• Meat and fish (including bones)
• Plate scrapings and leftovers
• Eggshells
• Teabags, tea leaves and coffee grounds
• Bread
• Dairy products

Check our more extensive list https://www.rochford.gov.uk/what-goes-where

Food waste must be put in your new food waste caddy, which has a grey body and yellow lid, and presented with your bins at the boundary of your property by 7am on your collection day. A separate crew is responsible for the collection of your food waste caddy; this will be collected at a different time from your other wheeled bins.

Please make sure your food waste caddy can be easily seen so it is not missed.

Some people have more food waste than others. At some point, everyone will put some food waste into their general waste which goes to EFW (Energy for Waste). It could be a bit of stale bread, banana skins, bones from a Sunday roast or even something lurking at the back of the fridge that you had forgotten about. All of these if put in your food waste caddy can be recycled to create energy and to produce a liquid fertiliser for local farmland.

The food waste caddy is 25 litres in size. This is the typical size for containers used to collect food waste across the country.

The waste capacity has been assessed.  If you find you are continuously filling up your food waste caddy, then you need to look at reusing your leftovers more, only buying what you need or investing in a composting bin. These can be purchased via Essex County Council  LoveEssex.org - composting at home

You can number your food waste caddy - you can write your house name or number on the lid. This will reduce the risk of the food waste caddy going missing or confusion after they have been emptied.

Keep your food waste caddy locked to keep smells inside and animals out. The lock is operated by the handle. The design of the food waste caddy has been tried and tested very successfully across many parts of the country, in both urban and rural locations.

There are some simple steps you can take – such as regularly emptying your food waste caddy, rinsing it out, keeping the lid closed, and keeping it out of direct sunlight.

Please do not contaminate any of your other wheelied bins with food waste.

Here are some helpful tips :

• Plan your meals for the week to reduce the amount of food that you buy
• Check the use by dates on food packaging and freeze food before it goes out of date
• Use food waste apps, where you can give away unwanted food to people who might need it, try Love Food Hate Waste.
• Try composting at home LoveEssex.org - composting at home

Please do not contaminate any of your other wheelied bins with food waste. 

Fruit and veg grown in a garden such as windfall fruit is classed as garden waste and can go in your food waste caddy. If the food waste bin is too heavy, it won’t be emptied so perhaps spread it over a few weeks.

Put all compostable garden waste in your bin, including:

• Garden cuttings – no soil/peat/compost attached
• Grass cuttings
• Flowers
• Leaves
• Branches (less than 30cm in diameter)

Check our more extensive list

Please do not put the following materials into your compostable waste bin:

• Fruit and vegetable peelings
• Raw and cooked food
• Meat and fish (including bones)
• Plate scrapings and leftovers
• Eggshells
• Teabags, tea leaves and coffee grounds
• Bread
• Dairy products
• Soil/compost/sand/peat
• Dead animals
• Pet food, animal bedding
• Treated wood
• Animal/human faeces

You can keep the compostable bin for storage, or contact the Council and request a bin return, however if you change your mind at a later date there will be a cost of £72.55.  If a new resident moves in and there is no bin there will be no charge.

No garden waste is to be put into your non-recyclables bin.

Replacement food waste caddies will be provided by the council to encourage households to participate in or increase their recycling. Order a replacement food waste caddy here.

Additional food waste caddies will only be delivered if there is enough stock available.

Before ordering a food waste caddy, check that your property receives weekly food collection. You can only order a food waste caddy if there is a food waste collection for your property.

Contact us here customerservices@rochford.gov.uk  if you have any other problems with the food waste service

Yes, please leave the food waste caddy within your agreed location with your wheelie bins by 7am.

You can report missed collections online. Please report a missed collection within two working days and after 15.30pm on collection day.

An exemption does not opt you out if the food waste recycling scheme. You will still be required to put your food waste in a caddy and present weekly at the boundary of your property.

Reducing your food waste can save you money and time. There are lots of tips for using up leftovers at www.LoveFoodHateWaste.com . Please do not put any food waste in your other bins. We will not collect any wheeled bins that are contaminated with food waste.

We can collect your food waste caddy, however if you change your mind at a later date you may incur a charge of £72.55. If new resident moves in and there is no caddy, there will be no charge.

As you caddy is much smaller than your wheelie bins, you should find them much easier to keep clean.