Food waste can represent a third of each household's black bin and recycling will significantly reduce the amount sent for incineration. Instead, it will help generate clean, green energy via a process called Anaerobic Digestion (AD).

AD is already a valuable source of renewable electricity in the UK, contributing over 1 billion kWh of electricity to the national grid - enough to power around 3 million homes for a year from waste and organic materials. It also provides fertiliser as a byproduct to benefit local farms.

Every bit of food waste will contribute to the generation of green energy, no matter how small. For example, recycling just two tea bags can create enough electricity to fully charge a smartphone, and a full caddy provides enough energy to toast 8 slices of bread.

Weekly food waste collections will be rolled out across the district in phases between October 2025 and March 2026. This is currently in the planning stages and the exact date for your area will be provided nearer to the start of the service.

To make sure you have the up-to-date information, subscribe to our bi-weekly residents’ newsletter Your Council News at www.winchester.gov.uk/no-listing/sign-up or follow Winchester City Council on social media.

All your raw and cooked food waste leftovers can be put into your food waste bin, including:

• All uneaten food and plate scrapings
• Raw and cooked meat and fish, including bones
• Tea bags and coffee grounds
• Fruit and vegetables including peelings (raw or cooked), and other parts you can’t use such as pips, stones, and stalks
• Out of date or mouldy food
• Shellfish and seafood shells
• Dairy products such as cheese
• Bread, cakes, pastries
• Eggs and eggshells
• Rice, pasta and beans
• Pet food

These items must not be put into your food waste bin:

• Packaging of any kind (except your caddy liner)
• Glass
• Liquids such as milk, liquid fat or gravy
• Oils such as used cooking oil
• Any material that is not food waste, including cat litter, or animal faeces, pet bedding, garden waste

Recycling food waste in the containers provided should reduce pest activity as collections will be more frequent (weekly instead of fortnightly) and your outdoor food waste bin will have a lockable lid.

Yes, throwing away edible food is a waste of resources and money, costing the average UK family £730 per year. According to WRAP, 4.7 million tonnes of edible food is thrown out each year by UK households, 25% of which is because of people cooking, preparing or serving too much.

There is more information as well as tips on how to reduce food waste on Hampshire County Council’s Smart Living page and in WinACC’s local WFP Toolkit Reducing Food Waste.