Food recycling up by 11 per cent after successful sticker trial

Swindon Borough Council is asking residents to cut down on the amount of unrecycled food waste, by adding bright ‘No food waste’ stickers to every household wheelie bin across the Borough.

The move follows a successful trial of 1,800 properties in West Swindon earlier this year, which saw an 11 per cent increase in food waste recycling tonnages across all trial areas.

The stickers act as a simple reminder for residents to make full use of their weekly food waste recycling collections, rather than putting leftover food in their general waste bin.

The borough-wide rollout of the stickers has already begun, with council officers applying them to all wheelie bins over the next few months.

Residents are reminded that all cooked and uncooked food, including fruit and vegetable peelings, meat, fish, bread, dairy products and plate scrapings, can go in their food waste caddies. Caddies can be ordered directly from the Council’s website.

Food waste collected in Swindon is sent to an anaerobic digestion facility, where it’s turned into green energy and nutrient-rich fertiliser, helping to power homes and support agriculture.

Councillor Chris Watts, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment and Transport, said: “This is a small but powerful reminder that can make a real difference. The trial showed us that clear, visible prompts on bins encourage residents to think twice before throwing food away with general rubbish.

“By recycling more of our food waste we can all help reduce disposal costs, lower our carbon footprint and create renewable energy from waste. Every tonne of non-recycled household waste costs around £140 of Swindon residents’ money to dispose of.

“Every banana skin, crust of bread or tea bag that goes into your food caddy instead of the wheelie bin helps make a greener Swindon. The success of the trial shows what we can achieve when we all do our bit.”