Food waste recycling trial

8,200 households across four areas of Sheffield have been selected to take part in a weekly food waste recycling trial.

The trial will begin at the end of summer 2022 and will help households to recycle more. Food waste will be collected separately from other waste, for a period of 12 weeks.

The trial will help us to provide the best possible service when a permanent, citywide food waste recycling service is introduced in the future.

Households in the trial

All households in the trial areas are receiving leaflets that give more information about the trial and what they can recycle.

They’ll also receive a 5 litre kitchen caddy and liners, a 23 litre outside food waste bin, and instructions on how to use them.

All you need to do is:

line your kitchen caddy with a liner, and put your food waste in it
whenever you need to empty your caddy, tie the liner and place it inside your outside food waste recycling bin
remember your outside food waste recycling bin comes with a lockable handle
put your food recycling bin out for collection before 7am on your collection day. This should be the same place you leave your other bins for collection. You will find your collection day on the leaflet you received when your containers were delivered

Why we are introducing a food waste recycling trial

In the next few years, all areas of England will be required by law to provide a weekly food waste recycling service. The Government has yet to confirm when separate collections will be required. They initially proposed 2023 and more recently suggested this be delayed until 2025.

This trial will tell us how many households will recycle their food waste, and how much food waste is likely to be collected from different areas across Sheffield. At the end of the trial, participants will be asked for their feedback on what worked well, and less well. This information will be used to help provide the best service possible when introduced citywide in the future.

The trial was approved in June 2022, by our Waste and Street Scene Policy committee.

The food that we eat and throw away impacts the amount of carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere. This trial will contribute to our objective of becoming a zero – carbon city by the start of the next decade.