Food waste recycling

Thank you for using the food waste service, we are now collecting over 100 tonnes each week for composting! If you are running out of kitchen caddy liners, please see below for information.

Separate weekly food waste collections and fortnightly refuse collections

All households (excluding those with communal collection arrangements and those who are on black sack refuse collections) now  receive separate food waste collections.

We accept all cooked and uncooked food waste including meat, fish and bones. The food waste is collected every week on your current collection day in a small food waste bin (23L) with a lockable lid.

With a weekly collection of food waste, there is no need to collect the remainder of your waste so often, so the grey wheeled rubbish bins are now collected fortnightly. 

The food waste is taken to a local composting facility where it is treated at high temperatures to kill any bacteria, it is then used on farmers fields as a soil improver to grow new crops.

External funding has been identified which means that the changes will be cost neutral to the council and by introducing weekly food waste collections and fortnightly refuse collections we aim to increase our recycling rate to over 45% by 2015.

Your food waste recycling leaflet is available to download.

Compostable Caddy Liners

You can use compostable caddy liners if you wish, however you do not have to line your caddy or you can use newspaper or kitchen roll instead. Please do not use plastic bags.

Maidstone Borough Council does not endorse any particular brand or supplier of compostable liner, if you are intending to purchase caddy liners please check they are 100% compostable, these are generally made out of corn starch, potato starch or paper and are certified BS EN 13432:2000. 

Some plastic bags may be sold as biodegradable, but this does not mean they are compostable and will not break down quickly enough during the composting process, some can take many years and leave fragments of plastic.

Compostable caddy liners are available to purchase from supermarkets such as Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Waitrose and many local retailers are now stocking them, please see below: 

• Allington Post Office, 2 Appledore Court, Hildenborough Crescent, Allington
• Best One, 16 Park Wood Parade, Park Wood
• Fareway (Londis) Heath Road, Coxheath
• Loose Post Office, Old Loose Hill, Loose
• Henhurst Farm Shop, Pinnock Lane, Staplehurst
• Paxman Services, Unit 3, Larkstore Park, Lodge Road,Staplehurst 
• Stanleys Garage, Albion Road, Marden
• Homeflair, 3 Northumberland Court, Shepway
• Homewood Orchard Garden Centre, Farleigh Lane, East Farleigh
• Newsrack, Grove Green Post Office, Weavering
• Penenden Heath Post Office, 321 Boxley Road, Penenden Heath
• South Park News, 192 Loose Road, Maidstone
• Spar, 6 Boughton Parade, Loose
• Spar, 124 Ashford Road, Bearsted
• Spar, Barming Post Office, 16 Bull Orchard, Barming
• The Spires Convenience Store, Derringwood Drive, Downswood
• Teston Post Office, Church Street, Teston  
• Wilkinsons, The Mall Chequers Centre, Maidstone

Compostable caddy liners can also be purchased on line from various suppliers, (as long as they meet the standard above), just use your search engine. 

If you are a local retailer and stock compostable liners and would like to be included on this list, please email waste@maidstone.gov.uk or telephone 01622 602500.

If you haven't received a food bin, please let us know by requesting a kitchen caddy. 

To check the details of your refuse and recycling collections, please put your postcode in the box below and click on the ‘search’ button.