The final rollout of caddies across the city means that we can all take action to be more sustainable. Brighton & Hove City Council’s new food waste collection allows everyone to reduce their food scraps (anything but liquids) including tea bags, apple cores, eggshells and bones. But where does the food waste in our caddies go?
Our team was lucky enough to visit the Woodlands site, near Hailsham. The facility can transform up to 60,000 tonnes of food and garden waste into three 5 different grades of compost, the best going to farmers and to our local Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) to buy from as little as £3 per bag. Anything oversized or unable to be composted is taken to a different facility to be turned into fuel.
It’s beneficial to still compost locally if you’re able to, as it will save the emissions of transporting the waste 18 miles one way to the facility. Local compost also creates a different type of living soil, which will continue to support the local ecosystem for years to come, rather than the high nitrate compost made at the facility. Visit our information hub for top tips and FAQs to get you started composting at home and in your community.
For the last 14 years our Community Composting schemes have been at the heart of Brighton & Hove City Council’s waste reduction and recycling strategy, celebrated nationally and internationally as a ground-breaking approach. Thanks to community action last month to save this flagship project, we are relived that we will be able to maintain the 58 existing community compost schemes. This means over 1,400 households in Brighton & Hove can continue to transform their food scraps into living soil within a short walk of their homes, connect with likeminded people, and strength local food use communities.
