As the majority of the homes in the City lack gardens, it's been
difficult up until now for residents to compost their food waste,
with most of it ending up in the rubbish bin.
However, residents on the Middlesex Street
Estate trialled a food waste
collection service in October 2006. Its success has
led to the expansion of the service to include the Guinness
Trust Estate on Mansell Street and Golden Lane Estate.
Residents are provided with a kitchen caddy and special
liners to use and all the food waste collected is sent for
composting.
For an update on the food waste collection trial on the
Middlesex Street Estate, please see our
Recycling Newsflash.
For more information on the trial, food waste and composting,
please down load copies of the Middlesex Street Estate food waste
newsletter, The Caddy Chronicle.
Download Caddy Chronicle, issue 2 April 2007 (538kb)
Download Caddy Chronicle, issue 1 - December
2006 (548kb)
Instructions for using the Service
Who?
Middlesex Street Estate, Guinness Trust Estate on Mansell Street
and Golden Lane Estate
What?
You can place all cooked and uncooked food waste in your caddy
including:
- fruit, vegtables and peelings
- dairy, meat and fish (but no meat bones)
- pasta, bread, rice and noodles
- tea bags and coffee grounds
- leftovers and plate scrapings
- cut flowers and small pot plants
If you want you can wrap your food waste in a sheet of newspaper
to help absorb moisture. Please do not use plastic bags, eg
bread bags, carrier bags.
It is very important that only food waste is placed
within your caddy. Other types of materials cannot be composted and
will contaminate the food waste collected.
How?
Line your caddy with one of the special caddy liners and place
all food waste within the liner.
Please only use the liners provided to line your caddy
as they are made of special material that can be
composted.
On your collection day please tie the top of liner within the
caddy.
Where?
On your collection day please place your caddy containing the
tied liner outside your front door for collection.
When?
For your convienience, your food waste will be collected on the
same days and times as your current recycling service, on:
Middlesex Street Estate: Tuesdays and
Fridays at 9.00am
Mansell Street Estate: Tuesdays and Fridays at
12.30pm
Golden Lane Estate: Mondays and Thursdays at
9.00am
Please only place your caddy outside your door on the
day of collection.
If you have any queries about the food waste
collection trial please email the
Recycling
team.
Tips for storing your food
waste
Wrap your food in a sheet of newspaper to help
absorb moisture.
Always keep your caddy lid closed, both inside your
house and when you put it outside for collection.
Only use the special liners provided to line your
caddy. Always tie your liner before putting it out for
collection.
Always put both the caddy and liner out for
collection. Use both your collection days.
Why compost food waste?
Composting is a natural method of recycling that turns food
waste into a useful soil that is rich in nutrients, called
compost.
When food waste is put in our normal rubbish it is collected and
disposed of in landfills, where it is buried in the ground.
As biodegradable rubbish, such as food waste and garden waste
decomposes in landfills it produces methane and carbon
dioxide which are greenhouse gases that contribute to global
warming and climate change . In fact the breakdown of
biodegradable materials in landfills is the main source of methane
in England!
When food waste is composted, these gases are not produced as
the food waste breaks down in a different way, under different
conditions to that in a landfill.
The European Union recognises the effect that landfills have on
global warming and climate change, and introduced a landfill
directive in 1999 which focuses on reducing the environmental
impact of biodegradable rubbish.
The UK Government, through this directive has been set targets
to reduce the amount of biodegradable rubbish it sends to landfill
to:
- 75% of 1995 tonnages by 2010
- 50% of 1995 tonnages by 2013
- 35% of 1995 tonnages by 2020
In order to meet these reductions the Government set local
authorities targets to reduce the amount of biodegradable rubbish
they send individually to landfill. Therefore, for the City of
London to carry on reaching these targets it must continue to
improve its recycling services and increase the materials it
collects.
By using the food waste collection service you are not only
making good use of your food waste by recycling it into a useful
compost but you are also helping to reduce the amount of greenhouse
gasses that are produced and therefore you are helping to
combat global warming and climate change.
Remember every bit you do makes a difference!
If you have any queries about the food waste
collection trial please email the
Recycling
team.