#Brown bin and kitchen caddy waste

How can I give feedback on the food waste collections and kitchen caddies?

We have found that 30% of the waste in the green landfill bin is made up of food waste which should be placed into the brown bins and we want to see if we can find a way of getting as much of that waste out of the green bins and into the brown bins as possible.

By taking part in the short food waste survey, you will be helping us understand how we can help residents recycle even more food waste.

To say thank you for taking part, you can leave your details at the end of the survey to be entered into a prize draw to win one of five £20 Love2Shop high street shopping vouchers.

What can I put in my brown bin?

Please place only the following in your brown bin:

• Garden waste including grass cuttings, hedge clippings, small branches, leaves, flowers and weeds;
• Food waste including cooked and uncooked food, bones, meat, egg shells, plate scrapings and peelings. Please place your food waste in the corn starch bags provided for your kitchen caddy. or wrap in newspaper/kitchen roll before putting in your brown bin;

Please see the document below for more information about what you can recycle at home:

Your guide to recycling at home (pdf 2mb opens in new window)

How do I use my kitchen caddy?

Using the corn starch bags provided, you can put the following in your caddy:

• fruit and vegetable peeling;
• plate scrapings;
• tea bags and coffee grounds;
• cooked food, meat, fish or bones;
• uncooked food;
• dairy produce;
• small amounts of fat and oil;

animal waste and bedding  from pets that are vegetarian for example hamsters, mice, rabbits and guinea pigs.  No cat, dog or horse waste.

How do I get more caddy liners when I run out?

You can collect liners from any customer service centre (finder map). library (including mobile libraries) (finder map) or leisure centre (except South Holderness) (finder map). Alternatively, you can use newspaper sheets or kitchen roll to line the caddy, place food directly into the caddy or straight into your brown bin.

You do not need to take a voucher with you to collect liners.

Can I have a second brown bin?

No, households are only allowed one brown bin. The collection rounds are structured for maximum efficiency and are working to their full capacity. Collecting two brown bins from each property would have a significant impact on resources, requiring more vehicles and staff.

If you have too much garden waste for your brown bin you can either compost the remaining waste at home or take it to your local tip .

Please note. garden waste taken to these sites is composted outdoors in open windrows so it is important that food waste isn’t added to the garden waste at these sites.

What if I would like to use the food waste caddy but have no brown bin?

A kitchen caddy  will be delivered to all households and is designed to hold food waste. As caddies of food waste will not be collected at the kerb side you must have a brown bin in which to place your full caddy sacks. You can request a new brown bin online (opens in new window) if you do not have one, and a brown bin will be delivered to you free of charge.

Can I have a food waste caddy if my garden waste is collected in a paper sack?

Yes. You will be given a kitchen caddy and you can store this waste in either your paper sacks or a smaller brown bin between collections if you wish. You can request a smaller 25 litre brown bin (the normal full size bins are 240 litre) by contacting customer services on (01482) 393939.

However, as we cannot empty these smaller brown bins directly into the back of refuse vehicle, you will need to transfer the waste from your bin into your paper sack on the day of collection.

What happens if I live in a flat or terraced house with no brown bin?

You will still be given a kitchen caddy which can be emptied into any available communal brown bin. You can request a new communal brown bin online (opens in new window) and a brown bin will be delivered to you free of charge.

What happens to my brown bin waste?

Once collected, the waste is taken to an in-vessel composting (IVC) facility. It is a large warehouse which is sealed. The waste is then put into large silo cages and air is pumped into them, along with the temperature being monitored to ensure it reaches 60-70 degrees to meet regulations for processing animal by-product material (material produced by an animal or taken from the body of an animal). This rotting process takes around 5-6 weeks.

Once rotted down the compost is taken to open air windrows to mature for 10-14 weeks. These are rows of compost which are then screened to produce different ranges of compost. The compost produced would largely be used in farming and agriculture.