Food waste collection

We are introducing weekly food waste collections for houses in Bracknell Forest from March 2021.

Why food waste collections are needed

There is an international climate change crisis and we are committed to taking steps to tackle this across our services. This includes encouraging and enabling more recycling.

We already recycle 43% of all waste but we know with food waste collection that could go up to around 50% by 2021 and 65% by 2030.

Putting rubbish into landfill not only wastes money, it also contributes to air pollution and to the long-term effects of climate change. We currently landfill 7,800 tonnes a year. Through food waste recycling we aim to reduce that by 50%.

The food waste is recycled into a liquid fertiliser used for farming and the recycling process releases methane which is used to create electricity.

How weekly food collections will work

Residents in houses will get 2 food waste caddies in January to February 2021.

These are:

a 5 litre caddy for inside your house
a 23 litre caddy for outside your house

The 23 litre outside caddy will be collected each week from March 2021.

What goes in your food caddy

You can put these in your food caddy:

all cooked and uncooked food
meat and fish bones
tea bags and coffee grounds
vegetable peelings, banana skins and apple cores
pet food
out of date food (not in its packaging)
cooking oil in a sealed plastic bottle (this needs to be in your outdoor caddy on the collection day)

Green bin collections will be every 3 weeks

We are changing the collection of green general waste bins from once every 2 weeks to once every 3 weeks.

Find out more on our green general waste bin page.

More information

Some common queries about food waste are listed below.

Bad smells from food

The majority of bad smells caused through waste, come from food. As this will be collected each week and will not go into green bins, smells should actually reduce.

Preventing maggots

Maggots only exist if flies have access to rubbish and they most often occur in food. As this will be collected each week and will not go into green bins, the risk of maggots should actually reduce.

To help prevent maggots, please:

rinse any food packaging
keep the lids of your bins closed
cover up food such as leftovers and pet food - or put it straight in the food caddy
pick up any pet poo as soon as possible and bag it

Maggots are unpleasant but there is no evidence to suggest that they cause health problems. The best approach is to be careful with your waste and make sure that flies can’t get to it.

Pet waste

Those who own pets should make sure that pet waste is bagged before being put in the green bin. The lid should also be firmly shut to reduce the risk of maggots and bad smells.

Nappies

As they do now, families with children in nappies should make sure that nappies are bagged before being put in the green bin. The lid should also be firmly shut to reduce the risk of maggots and bad smells.

If you have a genuine and unavoidable need for extra waste capacity

You can contact the waste team for support and advice if you are concerned and have a genuine and unavoidable need for extra waste capacity. The waste team will be available throughout the months leading up to launch to help and support residents. They will have a number of solutions that they can offer and these will be tailored to individual circumstances.

Food waste collection changes enquiry

Flats

We are looking into the possibility of adding a food waste collection for flats and houses of multiple occupancy from autumn 2021.

Each block of flats will be assessed before this is introduced to make sure a communal food waste bin can be accommodated. We will also need agreement from the management agent that they will take responsibility for cleaning the communal food waste bin.