Lewes District Council announces 50 per cent increase in food waste collection for composting

The council said that from March to October 2023, it took just under 497 tonnes of food waste to Woodlands, where they partner with a composting facility. The council said that for the same period in 2024, this increased to 742 tonnes, which is a rise of 49.34 per cent.

Councillor Wendy Maples, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Wellbeing, called the figure ‘a great contribution towards our environmental goals’.

She said: “I want to thank residents who are taking full advantage of our excellent household food waste service for this big, beautiful increase. Their potato peelings, coffee grounds, bones, egg shells and leftovers are being put to active good use, rather than heading for the incinerator.

“I know some residents were mistrustful of the old system of putting food waste into the side containers of the regular waste vehicles, which I completely understand. Seeing that food waste goes directly into a dedicated electric vehicle has brought lots of those residents back to the service.”

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The council also announced that it wants to encourage even more residents to recycle their food waste using its free service this autumn.

Councillor Maples said: “Environmentally, and for your wallet, the best thing is to reduce food waste by buying only as much as you need. The next best thing is to have a composter or wormery; alternatively use our food waste collection service. The increase in food waste collected is a result of residents’ positive engagement with the service and improvements we have made to our food waste collection operations, through separate EV collections. If you aren’t one of thousands of households that already benefit from this service, now is the perfect time to sign up.”

Join for free at www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/foodwaste and receive two food waste caddies and a roll of specially compostable caddy liners. Existing customers can pick up a free roll of caddy liners from locations listed on the website.