Composting and food waste

Food waste

We have weekly kerbside food waste collections in Surrey Heath.

Recycling your food waste rather than putting it in your rubbish bin is good for the planet. It will also help save more than £3 million a year across Surrey. It costs less than half to recycle food waste than it does to dispose of it. It’s good for your pocket too; a family of four could save £70 per month just by reducing the amount of food they throw away.

For tips on how to help reduce your food waste visit the Surrey Environment Partnership website (external link) and Love Food Hate Waste website (external link).

What happens to the food waste?

After it is collected food waste is taken to an anaerobic digestion (AD) facility. Through AD, micro-organisms break down the food waste producing biogas which is collected and used to generate electricity, heat and transport fuel. It also creates biofertiliser that can be used in farming and land regeneration.

Garden waste

If you have a garden, there are several environmentally friendly ways you can deal with the waste it produces.

Garden waste like grass cuttings, hedge trimmings or fallen leaves can usually be recycled in three ways:

1. by composting at home
2. subscribing to your local garden waste collection service
3. taking it to a recycling centre or bank

Once your garden waste has been recycled, it is turned into compost or soil conditioner.

Your garden waste should never be thrown away as general waste. This is bad for the environment and expensive for the tax payer. It is also illegal to dump garden waste in parks or wooded areas, or in other places for the council to clean up. This is fly-tipping and should be reported if seen.

Find out more tips to green your garden.

Home composting

Home composting is the most environmentally-friendly way to deal with garden waste as it rots down to produce a nutritious compost which you can then use on your garden. You can get more advice on this, and buy a compost bin from just £14.20 from the Surrey Environment Partnership website.

Find out more about home composting on the Surrey Environment Partnership website (external link).

You can also find out how to make your own compost bin on the Surrey Environment Partnership website (external link).