Every household in Brighton and Hove will be sent a food waste caddy as part of the new service, due to roll out from autumn.
Small five litre caddies and compostable liners will go to every home, while those with kerbside collections will also get a 23 litre caddy for outside – about 40cm high by 30cm wide.
The kerbside caddies will be emptied by Cityclean every week, and new communal food waste bins will be emptied more frequently, some daily.
The council estimates households currently throw away 21,634 tonnes of food waste every year – about 2.8kg per household per week.
However, it calculates the likely average amount recycled under the new scheme is likely to be much less – just 0.74kg per household per week.
This is because not everyone will participate – but also because some households may take steps to reduce food waste once they realise how much they produce.
More than a third of the food waste thrown away in samples used to produce these estimates was still packaged, either partially or fully unopened.
A report going before a meeting of Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet next Thursday says the waste will first be taken to Veolia’s Hollingdean depot, where it will be tipped into sealed waste containers.
It says: “Food waste will move out of Hollingdean frequently, which could be two or three container movements per day, meaning the food waste would move off-site quicker than if it were in the black bag stream.
“As the food waste will now be handled in sealed containers at Hollingdean our assessment is that smell emissions in the local area from food waste will be no worse and possibly better than they are now.”
From Hollingdean, it will be taken to Lewes to be composted.
The rollout will take place from September this year to March 2026.
Councillor Tim Rowkins, cabinet member forenvironmental services, said: “Our recycling rates have been historically low compared to other local authorities, so making it easier for residents to recycle more is a key priority for the council.
“Getting additional materials, including food waste, out of the general refuse will improve our recycling rates. The food waste will be turned into compost for use in and around the city.
“We know how much our residents want food waste collections so it’s essential we introduce them as soon as possible.
“That’s why we’re investing £1.2 million to fund the service, alongside DEFRA’s capital funding for vehicles and equipment.”
Until the new service is operational, the council says people should continue to put food waste in with general waste.
Plans to expand the range of recycled materials to include plastic pots, tubs and trays – such as yoghurt pots, fruit trays/punnets, margarine tubs, and soup pots, are also due to start soon, although the date has not yet been announced.
The council says this will eventually be expanded to also include food and drink cartons, as well as aluminium foil and foil trays.
Cabinet is also being asked to agree to this expanded dry mixed recycling offer to remain in place through to the end of the current disposal contract until 2033.
I have a caddy already and compost at home. How do I opt out of receiving another caddy that I don’t want or need?
You can always recyle it – oh – wait, not here in Brighton.
A waste of public money
I think food waste being introduced is a good thing tbh – my worry is that with the council collection service being so dismal is that they won’t cope.
The government gave councils “new burdens” money in 2024 to fund the new service, but lots of councils protested the amount was not enough to cover the amount needed in reality to run a decent collection service. Lots of councils challenged the government on the funding shortfall, but I don’t think our Labour run council did that and it looks from this article they are dipping into other funding they have to top up the money needed to run the service as a result.
It’s difficult to know exactly from the way the funding is referred to in this article, but if the council didn’t receive enough government funding to pay for the new service, then it’s ridiculous if they failed to point out to their pals in Westminster that the new burdens funding wasn’t enough and they are dipping into other money that could have been used for other things instead.
Food waste collections on the whole good, but the last thing we need is another underfunded and poorly run service, and I’ve not seen enough yet to be confident that is what we will get.
What kind of compost?.. Non organic with chemicals..? . With meat or no meat?.. Excluding any fungi sick leaves like black spot?… What are the rules of what we are to put in these containers and who is going to monitor it!? and how is this compost going to be treated, what is the process? and where is this compost going to be used? Does anyone have any info please? Thank you…
The current situation at cityclean goes not raise hopes, alas. Twenty years ago there were rumblings against paper collection.
Living on a Street were the rubbish and recycle bins already sit on the narrow footpath, yet another bin joins them!
Waste of money apart from they make nice paint pots and save a pound from buying those orange b&q buckets.
According to the council papers they aren’t asking residents about where the communal food waste will go, so much for listening to residents about plans like this!
Was this not mandated by a previous government?
Yes, the law requires the Council to do it and it’s leaving it until the last minute. Should have done it yonks ago.
Of course we should be 1. Minimising food waste and 2. Recycling any food waste that we have. I would want to know, will it really go to Lewes and have a proper compost process (knowing that not everyone follows guidelines)? More broadly, I want to know whether all of the city’s rubbish truly gets treated locally, and is not shipped off to poorer countries.
I suspect this is a dumb idea for a city with a high turnover of residents.
I try not to produce any food waste myself and, as an allotment holder, I’m able compost anything organic – like paper envelopes or vegetable cuttings. But I also live in a house where the bedsit tenants come and go, and our recycling bins are constantly contaminated with inappropriate dumped rubbish in the wrong place.
I see exactly the same problem at the nearest recycling point, which for me is at the King Alfred car park – where those leaving the beach dump their picnic and BBQ litter in the glass recycling bins.
So this new food waste collection service may work for family houses in wider streets, but is not really the answer for terraces and flats and bedsits. You shouldn’t really compost cooked meat or a half eaten pizza.
The cost of dealing with contaminated waste often skews the green benefits from a well intentioned the collection service. In this case the council probably know this, but national legislation requires them to set up a new money-wasting service.
I hope I’m wrong.
Not against this in principle, but we don’t really have any food waste, if its compostable it gets put in our compost caddy and taken to our allotment. If its not compostable and meat then our Dog usually recycles it. I wonder if this new caddy will make a good lamp shade or something?