As part of its drive to combat climate change and improve recycling rates in Northumberland, the county council is undertaking a pilot scheme, collecting the weekly food waste from around 4,200 households across four areas within the county.
An average household’s waste is made up of one-third food-waste that could be recycled. Additionally, wasting food costs the average family around £60 a month.
This pilot scheme will help the council assess the impact recycling food waste will have on overall household waste, determine the viability of extending the service across the rest of the county, and help us collect your feedback and refine the service.
All the information and support you need for taking part in this trial can be found on this web page.
Page contents:
The benefits of recycling your food waste
- Your household bin is cleaner, less full and not as smelly.
- Recycling more and wasting less is an effective way to help the environment.
- Recycling your food waste gives you the opportunity to recycle more of your household waste.
- Increasing the amount of waste recycled helps us achieve local and national targets.
How the trial works
Households participating in the pilot will receive a small caddy for their kitchen, bin liners to put in their caddy, and an outside food recycling bin with a lockable lid.
Recycling your food waste is easy. Line your caddy with one of the liners and rather than using your normal bin, place your food waste into the caddy.
When you need to empty the caddy, tie up the top of the liner and place it in your outdoor food recycling bin. Remember, food waste can be heavy so empty your caddy before it gets too full.
Food waste is collected every week on your usual bin day. Your food recycling bin should be placed out for collection by 7am.
Check your bin day here.
Once collected, food waste is recycled at an anaerobic digestion plant. The contents is processed to generate energy and make fertiliser for growing crops. The empty liners are sent to the Energy from Waste plant for incineration for energy recovery.
What do I put in my food waste caddy?
- All uneaten food and plate scrapings
- Dairy (no large quantities of milk please)
- Fruit and vegetables peelings
- Mouldy or out of date food
- Bread and pastries
- Tea bags and coffee grounds
- Fish
- Small bones such as chicken or fish bones
What should I not put in my food waste caddy?
- Any material that is not food waste
- Big bones such as lamb shoulder or leg
- Large quantities of liquids such as milk or vegetable oil
- Packaging of any kind
Caddy liners
When you are getting low on caddy liners, please tie one to the handle of your food waste bin when you put it out for collection.
Our collection crew will then know to leave you a new roll. If you run out between collections, any normal plastic bag can be used to line the caddy as a temporary measure.
Get a free text/email reminder before each bin collection day.
As a household who is participating in the food waste recycling trial, you can sign up for electronic messages to remind you about your collection days. If you sign up, you will have the opportunity to be entered into a free prize draw to win a £100 voucher.
Your questions answered:
Why is the council conducting a food waste pilot?
Every bit of food we waste contributes to climate change. On average, a third of UK household waste is from food. Most of this waste is unopened or leftover food, accounting nationally for around 36 million tonnes of CO2e. per year. Throwing away less food at home is one of the simplest daily steps each of us can take to help protect our environment. However, many households do not have the space to compost their food waste meaning much of the food that ends up in general waste bins is unavoidable.
Northumberland County Council is piloting a new food waste recycling service to monitor what impact this has on waste reduction, with a view to extending the service county-wide. The trial will allow us to collect food waste separately and treat it in an anaerobic digestion facility, generating energy from food waste whilst the by-product can be used to replace fertiliser in agricultural use.
Collection, transport, and processing emissions will all be assessed throughout the trial. This data will help inform the future provision of waste services and the attainment of wider council goals. Specifically, with support from the
Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP), we will measure the carbon emissions from each area and assess the impact this will have on Northumberland County Council’s goal of achieving net-zero by 2030. By diverting food waste from incineration, alongside promoting food waste reduction and prevention too, we hope to reduce carbon emissions.
It is also expected that the Government will announce soon that all English councils will be mandated to collect food waste separately from 2023, as part of its National Resources and Waste Strategy Consultation response.
How will the Council collect food waste and what happens to it?
Households will receive a small caddy for their kitchen and another for outside along with plastic bin liners for the caddy.Food waste will be collected weekly by a fit-for-purpose vehicle designed to collect and deliver food waste.
This means that whilst food waste bins will be collected on the same day as general/recycling bins, it will be at a different time of the day due to the trial using a bespoke vehicle. Residents are still advised to put all bins out at the same time, before 7am on collection day.
The waste will be taken to an anaerobic digestion plant for processing at West Sleekburn. Food waste is used to produce biogas and electricity and valuable bio fertiliser soil products.
When is the trial starting?
The trial will begin on the week commencing 12 September. Participating households should use the smaller bin provided (caddy), lined with the bags provided, to collect food waste throughout the week. Once full, food waste should be placed bagged into the larger 23L bin which will be collected weekly at the kerbside of households within the pilot area. Please click here to check when your next collection will take place.
Why has my household been selected?
Four residential areas in Northumberland have been chosen to participate in the trial. We have chosen both urban and rural locations as well as different housing types to ensure an assessment can be made of how the scheme would work in different areas of the county.
Due to the specialist nature of the food waste collection vehicle, transfer, and treatment process, it was also important that the areas selected were within reasonable reach of the operational base at Coopies Lane Depot, Morpeth.
I am already taking part in the glass trial, why have I been selected for another trial?
Two of the areas selected to receive kerbside food waste collection are already participating in the kerbside glass recycling trial. By including these households within the trial we will be able to measure the impact where households are receiving separate glass and food waste collections. The feedback and data collected from these households will be important if kerbside food and glass collections are to be rolled out countywide in the future.
What day is my food waste bin emptied?
Your food waste bin will be emptied weekly on your usual general/recycling collection day, just leave it alongside your bin. A different vehicle is used to collect food waste so your bin will be emptied at a different time of day to your general/recycling bin. Participating households are still advised to place all bins out before 7 am on collection day.
Can I take part in the food waste pilot?
The Council is trialling a food waste collection service for 4,200 households in four areas of the county. Only households that have been contacted within the specific areas identified can take part in the pilot.
It is anticipated that the council will extend the service countywide once the government passes legislation mandating such collections and funding is made available.
What can I do to reduce my food waste?
For tips and advice to help you waste less food and save money visit the Love Food, Hate Waste website here.
I live in a pilot area. Will my recycling and household waste collections change?
No, your collection days will remain the same as normal. You will be able to recycle your food waste immediately upon receiving the two new containers we provide. Your weekly collections will then start from the following week on your normal general/recycling bin collection day.
Will the food in my bins smell?
No. Emptying your food caddy regularly into the larger outside food recycling bin regularly, and using the liners provided will prevent bad smells. Your larger food bin has a sealable and lockable lid which will prevent smells and stop vermin from getting in. Your fortnightly collected general waste bin will also stay cleaner and smell less by removing your food waste.
Will the food waste caddies blow away after they have been emptied?
Our staff are looking at ways to leave the caddies after they have emptied them to reduce the risk of them blowing away.
How long will the trial last?
The trial will be conducted initially for a period of 12 months after which a review will take place.
Will you supply bin liners for the food waste caddies?
Yes, we will provide liners for the caddies.
What happens if I run out of caddy liners?
We will provide each household with rolls of 25 caddy liners to get started with when we deliver your food waste bins. When you are running low, tie a bag on the larger 23L bin handle when you put it out for collection and the crew will leave you more liners.
Can the bin liners be recycled?
The liners are biodegradable are separated at the anaerobic digestion plant. They are then sent to an energy from waste facility where waste is burned to generate energy. You can learn more about energy from waste here. Some biodegradable bags deteriorate rapidly and split therefore we have decided not to use them.
Can I use my own bin liners?
Yes, any plastic bag will do, as long as it does not have holes in it. Some people use the plastic bags that loaves of bread come in.
Can I use a different caddy in the kitchen?
Yes, you can use any caddy you like inside your home and many retailers sell various styles. Whatever you use, please make sure you line it with a caddy liner or plastic bag to stop the food waste from leaking into the bin.
What do I do if my larger 23L food waste bin goes missing or gets damaged?
Please call 0345 600 6400 to arrange a replacement.
What do I do if my kitchen caddies is damaged or misplaced?
Please call 0345 600 6400 to arrange a replacement, or use a suitable caddy or bin of your own.
I don’t want to take part in the pilot, can I opt out?
We understand you may have some questions and concerns about the pilot and urge you to carefully read the information on this page. We would then ask that you please take the food bins when they are delivered, and take time to consider whether this new service would be beneficial for you before trying out the scheme for the first month.
We hope to introduce kerbside food collection countywide over the coming years and therefore we urge participating households to give the scheme a try and see how they manage. We are keen to hear residents’ thoughts, even if ultimately you decide the trial is not something you want to take part in. Throughout the pilot we will be collecting feedback to help adapt and strengthen the pilot, and shape how we might extend the service in the future. Your opinion is an essential part of that process.
It is also worth remembering the many benefits of taking part in the trial. By having your food waste collected weekly, smells will be reduced and space will be freed up in your general waste bin, which is collected fortnightly. Your food waste will also be put to good use, recycled at an anaerobic digestion plant where it is used to generate energy and create a fertiliser to grow crops.
If, after consideration and trial, you still feel that you won’t use the bin, and it will not be of any benefit to you, then please call customer services on 0345 600 6400 and we will arrange to collect it.
We will not be collecting unused bins until after the first glass collection on the week commencing 13 September 2022.
What happens if my food waste bin is not collected on collection day?
If we miss your bin due to our operational difficulties, we post information about this on our alerts channels on social media and at
www.northumberland.gov.uk You can also report a missed bin on the website.
We will make every effort to return to collect your bin, providing that it was missed through our fault.
However, if it has been missed due to bad weather or other circumstances beyond our control, this may not always be possible, and we will then collect it on the next collection date.
Why does my bin need to be put out by 7am?
The time that we come to empty your bins may change - if you don’t put your bin out by 7am on the day of collection, it might not be emptied and we won’t be able to return for it.
Throughout the year, we still occasionally need to change the order in which we collect bins to take into account things like roadworks, weather conditions and other issues outside of our control, so please always ensure you put your bin out by 7am on collection day.
What if I have an existing assisted collection for my other bins?
The type of assistance you currently receive will be the same for your glass recycling bin.
If you lock a gate, then please make sure that it is open from 7am on each collection day.
What should I do on my food bin collection day?
Follow this simple checklist to ensure your bins are collected correctly:
- Put your bin out before 7am on collection day, either at the kerbside or previously agreed collection point.
- Don’t overfill your bin; the lid must be able to close.
- Take your bin back onto your property within 24 hours of it being emptied.
How will reviews be conducted and resident feedback be collected?
Yields will be taken every week on collection day over the course of the trial to measure the weight of food waste collected. This will allow us to compare data across the different participating areas over the course of the trial.
After six months we will contact participating households asking them to complete a satisfaction survey.
Where can I take items that I can’t put in any of my bins?