Join the food waste revolution in Somerset

Together with our recycling and rubbish collections contractor, SUEZ we are encouraging everyone to recycle their food waste

Order waste boxes, bins and bags

Use our online form to request waste containers

Order a food bin

Recycle your food waste in three simple steps

Step one

Line your food caddy with newspaper or a compostable bag.

Step two

Place all food waste in your kitchen caddy.

Step three

Once full, place in the brown food bin ready for your weekly recycling collection.

Yes Please

  • Raw and cooked food
  • Meat, fish, dairy and bones
  • Tea bags and coffee grounds
  • Pet food

No Thanks

  • Flowers or garden waste
  • Pet waste
  • Liquids or cooking oils
  • Any packaging, including compostable containers

Pledge today - Small changes, big impact

Don’t wait, commit to recycling your food waste, join our food waste recycling revolution and you could win a year’s supply of caddy liners.

Make your pledge

Why recycling food waste matters

We are encouraging everyone to recycle their food waste because it’s better for the environment and cheaper for us to process.

  • Using the specially designed kitchen caddy can reduce smells, and it gets taken away more often.
  • Food waste get turned into something useful. It is used to generate electricity and fertiliser for farms.

What is food waste and what happens to it?

We know that some things aren’t normally eaten – like peel, cores, eggshells and bones. This food waste is known as unavoidable.

Food waste that could have been saved and eaten is known as avoidable food waste. This includes things like plate scrapings, food thrown out in its packaging and gone-off food.

Food that is collected from our food waste bins is sent to an anaerobic digestion facility near Bridgwater. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is like a stomach, it uses micro-organisms to break down food waste in the absence of oxygen, inside an enclosed system. The methane given off during this process is collected and converted to biogas and used to generate clean, green electricity, heat or transport fuels. It also creates nutrient-rich digestate used for fertiliser for agriculture.

Anaerobic digestion is not the same process as commercial composting, which is why compostable packaging is not accepted in your food waste collection.

Diagram to show food waste process

Meet our food waste recycling warriors!

Say hello to Benny the Bread, Patty the Potato, Nana the Banana, Charlie the Cheese, and Carrie the Carrot!

These fun and friendly characters are here to remind us all about the importance of recycling food waste. Look out for them in our social media posts, events, and libraries.

Cartoon slice of bread making a silly face

Benny the Bread

Benny says: Food recycling easy. In fact, it is right on your doorstep and does not take much time or effort.

Cartoon potato pointing to something

Patty the Potato

Patty says: Just one kitchen caddy of food waste generates enough electricity to power a light bulb for more than 24 hours.

Cartoon banana skin making a silly face

Nana the Banana

Nana says: Just one recycled banana skin can produce enough energy to charge a mobile phone twice.

Cartoon cheese wedge smiling and waving

Charlie the Cheese

Charlie reminds us that recycling food waste isn’t stinky…actually, it’s cleaner. Recycling is collected weekly, other rubbish isn’t, and so it will be taken away sooner.

Cartoon carrot lying down with one hand on its hip and resting his face on the other

Carrie the Carrot

Carrie says: 7 out of 10 households in Somerset recycle their food waste kerbside.

Cartoon tomato with a smiling face

Tommy the tomato

Tommy says: Empty out of date food into the food waste recycling bin and put the packaging in the correct container.