We’ll be introducing weekly food waste collections for households in the Winchester district by April 2026.
Unused food and food leftovers currently make up about 30% of each household’s black bin and being able to recycle this will significantly reduce the amount of waste sent for incineration by using it to generate clean, green energy and nutrient-rich soil improver for our farmers.
Food waste recycling will make a huge contribution by reducing carbon emissions across the Winchester district by up to 1900 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
Also, to make the service as carbon neutral as possible, our new food waste collection vehicles will be fuelled by hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), which offers up to a 94% reduction in carbon emissions compared to diesel.
Before the start of the weekly food waste collections in your area, you will receive a starter pack made up of an information leaflet, a small caddy in which to collect food waste in your kitchen, a sample roll of 26 compostable liners and a 23 litre outdoor bin (or use of a communal bin if you share your outside bins with other properties).
Key facts about the new service
Food waste collections will be weekly, on the same day as your regular waste and recycling collection. So, you just need to put your 23L outdoor bin out each week with your wheelie bin.
Households will receive their starter pack around 2 weeks before the start of the service in their area.
You will need to supply your own liners after your sample roll is used up.
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.
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.
