Food Waste Collection Service

Once a week we collect your food waste at the same time as we collect either your refuse or recycling.

• Food Waste Film

  Watch our |three minute online film 'Love Food', to find out all about how the service works and what happens to your food waste after it is collected.
  
  
  

• Which bins do I put my food waste into?

  You can put your food waste into the 5 litre silver kitchen caddy that is conveniently stored in your kitchen until you are ready to transfer it to the 23 litre outside green food bin (for households), or the 140 litre outside communal food waste bin with a light green lid (for communal properties). The outside bin is emptied once a week on your normal collection day.
  
  

• How do I use my kitchen caddy and how do I line it?

  Use your kitchen caddy to store food waste. You can line your kitchen caddy with compostable liners, newspaper or kitchen roll, or alternatively you do not need to line it at all. Do not use plastic bags to line it. |Find out more here about using your kitchen caddy.
  
  

• What can I put into my kitchen caddy and food waste bin?|

  Check the list on the right to see what can and can't go into your food waste bins. |Find out more on what can go into your bins here.

  
  

• Report a missed collection

  Collections take place any time after 7.00am so please have your waste ready. |If your collection is missed you can notify us using our online form.
  
  

• What day is my collection?

  Use our |My Elmbridge feature to find out your collection day. Simply enter your postcode or address and select the "My House" tab to identify your collection day details.
  
  

• Is food waste collected from flats?

  The new Elmbridge Bin Collections Service is now available to some of the 7,000 communal properties in Elmbridge. More properties will be included later this year and were written to recently. Visit the |Elmbridge Bin Collections page for flats and communal properties for more information.
  
  

• Keeping your food waste bins clean

  Useful advice on |keeping your food bins clean, especially in the summer months.
  
  

• Why is the Council collecting food waste?|

  Before we started collecting food waste in October 2009, the average household bin contained around 40% food waste. By collecting it separately and recycling it, it no longer end up in landfill sites where it decomposes without Oxygen underneath tonnes of other waste. When food waste rots in this way it generates large amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Instead, the collected food is composted and turned into a fertiliser which is used on agricultural land.
  
  Studies have shown that we throw away a third of all the food we buy. Find out how you can |reduce the amount of food waste you produce.
  
  

• Find out more

  |Contact the Environmental Care Team with any queries or visit our |Frequently Asked Questions.