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Food and garden waste

 
Put all your garden and food waste in the green-top bins. We pick up your garden and food waste once a week.

What to put in your green bin

Food waste refers to all cooked and uncooked food, including:

  • meat, fish and bone
  • fruit and vegetables
  • rice, pasta and bread
  • tea bags and coffee grounds
  • plate scrapings
Garden waste includes:

  • grass, hedge and shrub cuttings
  • leaves and weeds
  • tree bark and small branches (less than 50mm or two inches in diameter)
  • straw and hay
  • plants and flowers

Using your kitchen caddy

To help you collect your food waste in the house, we are giving each house a kitchen caddy.

We suggest that you:

  • line the caddy with newspaper or kitchen towel to soak up moisture - DO NOT use plastic bags
  • place all your food waste and plate scrapings into the caddy
  • empty your caddy into your green-top bin or cornstarch sack
  • rinse your caddy before using again
The kitchen caddy has a capacity of six litres.

Bin liners and sacks

Please DO NOT put plastic bin liners, sacks or bags in your green bin as they cannot be composted.

You can wrap food waste in newspapers, kitchen towels or paper bags. If you need to line your bin, use compostable paper or constarch bags.

There is no real difference between paper and cornstarch bags. Both are compostable and suitable for use with your food and garden waste.

Cost-price paper and cornstarch bags

What NOT to put in your green bin

Here are some examples of what you should not put in your green bin:

  • food packaging
  • tree trunks and large branches (over 50mm or two inches in diameter)
  • household wood and timber (MDF and treated woods)
  • plastic plant pots
  • polystyrene packaging
  • pet waste
  • cat litter
  • disposable nappies
  • plastic bags

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