Weekly food waste collections are set to begin for households across Crawley later this month.

Crawley Borough Council will launch the new service on Monday, September 28, with food waste caddies already being delivered to individual households.

Councillor Nick Hilton – cabinet member for environment, sustainability and climate change – said: “After several months of planning we are nearly ready to roll out the service. Every house will be receiving their new caddies over the next few weeks.

“A typical family of four in the UK can throw away almost £1,000 worth of edible food every year, so something as simple as using the weekly food waste collection can make a big difference by helping people save money.”

Crawley councillor Nick Hilton is the cabinet member for environment, sustainability and climate change. Photo: Crawley Borough Council

placeholder image — Crawley councillor Nick Hilton is the cabinet member for environment, sustainability and climate change. Photo: Crawley Borough Council

The new collection service is being introduced as part of the UK Government’s ‘simpler recycling reforms’, which require councils in England to provide separate weekly food waste collections.

More than 44 per cent by weight of the average rubbish bin in Crawley is food waste, according to the council.

Alongside the new weekly collections, general waste collections for individual households will move to fortnightly collections, using residents’ existing bins.

The council said the existing fortnightly kerbside dry mixed recycling service will remain unchanged, while garden waste collections will continue to be available by subscription.

Flats and other properties with communal bins will remain on their current collection arrangements for now and are expected to join the new food waste service at a later date.

Each individual household will receive a starter pack containing a lockable 23-litre outdoor food waste bin with an orange lid, a five-litre indoor caddy, a free starter roll of compostable liners and a collection calendar.

The council previously sent households a leaflet in August explaining how the new service will work.

Food waste will be collected every week on residents’ normal bin collection day.

Once collected, the food waste will be taken to an anaerobic digestion plant, where it will be transformed into renewable energy and fertiliser for local farms.

Further information about the new food waste collection service, including what can and cannot be put in the food waste bin, is available online.