Ashford residents encouraged to recycle their food waste

Ashford Borough Council is launching a new campaign to encourage residents to recycle their food waste by using the provided food caddies, helping reduce the amount of food waste found in both refuse and recycling bins. 

Over the coming weeks, households will receive: 

• A helpful food waste recycling guide
• A roll of compostable food caddy bin liners
• A sticker placed on both their refuse bin and recycling bins if no food caddy is presented on collection day

Thanks to residents' efforts, food waste recycling in the borough has increased by 5% over the past year. However, nearly half of food waste (48%) is still being placed in refuse bins, and it continues to be one of the leading causes of contamination in recycling bins, so there’s more we can do.

We provide outdoor food caddies for free, including replacements, and collect food waste weekly.

Almost all food waste can be recycled in the food caddy - including cooked and uncooked meat and fish (even bones), fruit and vegetables, leftovers, coffee grounds, bread, pastries, dairy products, rice and pasta. 

The most effective way to reduce food waste is to only buy what we need, use what we buy; recycling unavoidable waste is the next best step.

Food waste collected in the food caddies is processed naturally to produce fertiliser for local farms and biogas. This biogas powers the recycling plant and contributes to the national grid, generating enough energy to power over 3,000 homes each year. 

Recycling food waste can also help residents save money by encouraging more mindful shopping and reducing unnecessary purchases.  

Cllr Steve Campkin, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Sustainability, said: “Earlier this year, we launched a pilot rollout to approximately 10,000 properties, which involved stickering refuse bins and distributing recycling guides along with food caddy liners. The results were promising - we saw an over 200% increase in food caddy orders in the pilot areas.”

“No amount of food waste is too small to recycle, every chicken bone and banana peel makes a difference. Even if you compost at home, your food caddy is ideal for items that can’t go in a compost bin. It all adds up.”

Kent County Council has also partnered with other local authorities, including Folkestone & Hythe District Council, Canterbury City Council, to run similar initiatives – all aimed at reducing food waste and increasing recycling rates.