Food recycling — compost bin or local recycling?

 


Food recycling — compost bin or local recycling?

Food waste is the most avoidable thing in the bin… and somehow the most determined to go slimy by Tuesday.

So if you’ve got peelings, tea bags, leftovers and a suspicious half-cucumber, what’s greener: chucking it in your home compost bin, or using your council’s food-waste recycling?

The best answer is: both — but for different types of food waste.

Option A: Home composting (the “turn it into black gold” route)

Best for:

  • Raw fruit and veg peelings

  • Egg shells

  • Tea bags / coffee grounds (check the bag material)

  • Cardboard/paper “browns” (torn up)

  • Garden waste (grass, leaves, prunings)

Why it’s good

  • You keep nutrients at home and improve your soil.

  • You cut the weight (and smell) in your general bin.

  • It’s genuinely one of the simplest “circular economy” wins. WRAP and Recycle Now both push home composting as a practical waste-prevention step.

The catch (literally): pests
Most standard home compost bins shouldn’t take cooked food, meat, fish, dairy, or oily leftovers — that’s the fast track to the neighbourhood rat setting up a long-term tenancy. Recycle Now’s guidance is very clear on avoiding cooked/meat/fish in basic home composting.

If you want to compost “real” food scraps at home

  • Bokashi (fermented kitchen waste in a sealed bucket) can handle cooked food more safely, but it’s a different system.

  • Hot composting (properly managed) can process more, but it needs attention.

  • Wormeries can take some kitchen waste, but not everything.

(If your composting hobby already has a spreadsheet, you’re ready for hot composting.)

Option B: Council food-waste recycling (the “let the pros deal with it” route)

Best for:

  • Cooked leftovers

  • Meat, fish, dairy (where your council accepts them)

  • Plate scrapings, stale bread, rice/pasta

  • Things you really don’t want sitting in your kitchen bin for a week

What usually happens to it
In England, government guidance says that separately collected food waste is preferably treated by anaerobic digestion (AD) — essentially, microbes break it down without oxygen to produce biogas (energy) and digestate (a fertiliser-like material).

The big policy change (and why you’re hearing more about it)
From 31 March 2026, waste collection authorities in England must provide weekly food-waste collections for households (with limited transitional exceptions).
So food-waste recycling is about to become a lot more “normal” in places that don’t currently have it.

Which is greener: compost bin vs council caddy?

Use home composting when…

  • It’s mostly raw veg/fruit + garden waste

  • You’ll actually use the compost (beds, pots, mulching)

  • You can keep the mix healthy: browns + greens + air (otherwise it turns into swamp)

RHS composting advice is great on the basics (airflow, balance, troubleshooting).

Use council food recycling when…

  • It’s cooked food / mixed leftovers

  • You want the “set and forget” system

  • You’d rather not run a small wildlife sanctuary behind the shed

And practically: separating food waste also reduces what ends up in residual waste, where it can create methane if it decomposes in landfill.

The “do this at home” hybrid that works for most people

  1. Compost bin: garden waste + raw peelings + paper/cardboard.

  2. Food caddy: everything messy/cooked/leftovers (as your council allows).

  3. General waste bin: only what truly can’t be recycled/composted.

Your council’s rules matter (they really do). For example, some councils are explicitly shifting “brown bin = garden only” once separate food waste starts.
If you’re local to Slough, start with your “what goes in my bins” page and follow their accepted list.

Tiny tips that make it easier (and less… fragrant)

  • Line the kitchen caddy (if permitted) and keep the lid shut.

  • Freeze smelly scraps (fish/meat) until collection day if you’re sensitive to odours.

  • In compost: add shredded cardboard whenever it looks wet or clumpy.

  • If your compost smells bad, it usually needs air + browns, not a pep talk.

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