Food waste

Recycling all food waste is now a legal requirement. By recycling food waste, we can save £1 million annually in landfill tax and reinvest this in the community in Ards and North Down.

All food waste

You must put all food waste in your green or brown bin including:

meat and fish - raw and cooked, including bones
dairy products, such as eggs and cheese
vegetables and fruit - raw and cooked
uneaten food such as leftovers and plate scrapings
bread, cake and pastries
rice, pasta and beans
tea bags, tea leaves and coffee grounds

You must remove all packaging from the food. If the packaging is recyclable, rinse this and place it in your blue bin. Don't put any food waste in your grey bin.

Collecting food waste in your kitchen caddy

We supply you with a handy kitchen caddy so that you can easily collect your food waste before putting it in your green or brown bin. We deliver a free supply of compostable caddy liners to households once a year. This should be enough liners to accommodate the average household's food waste. If you do not have a kitchen caddy, please visit Order a new bin or kitchen caddy for details on how to order one.

Where to purchase compostable food caddy liners

In cases where a householder needs more compostable liners, these can be purchased from most large grocery stores or direct from Council facilities including:

City Hall, The Castle, Bangor, BT20 4BT
Council Offices, 2 Church Street, Newtownards, BT23 4AP
Ards Visitor Information Centre, 31 Regent Street, Newtownards, Co.Down BT23 4AD - Telephone: 028 9182 6846 Email: ardsvic@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk
Bangor Visitor Information Centre, Tower House, 34 Quay Street, Bangor, Co.Down BT20 5ED - Telephone: 028 9127 0069 Email: bangorvic@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk
Ards Blair Mayne Wellbeing and Leisure Complex
Comber Leisure Centre
Portaferry Sports Centre.

£1 for a roll of 26 liners.

If you don't have compostable caddy liners, you can put loose food waste wrapped in newspaper or kitchen roll in the caddy. Biodegradable/degradable bags are not acceptable as they do not degrade at a suitable rate for the processing plant. You must not use plastic bags to collect food waste in your kitchen caddy.

Households without a green or brown bin, caddy or liners

Even if you don't have a garden, every household in the Ards and North Down borough needs to have a green or brown bin to dispose of food waste. We empty these bins every two weeks all year round. To request a green or brown bin, kitchen caddy or both, contact us:

email: recycling@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk
telephone: 0300 013 3333 and select option 1 for recycling

We will arrange for delivery to your home. You should start using it straight away for your food waste.

Using your kitchen caddy

See instructions below on how to collect and dispose of your food waste.

An overwhelming majority of residents have really embraced the food waste recycling message and we wish to thank everyone for their commitment. We do not want the efforts of the majority to be undermined and as such we will be commencing routine monitoring of grey bins for the presence of food waste.

Where we find that someone has got it wrong we will provide up to two opportunities to get it right next time. An information label will be attached to the grey bin. If anyone has any concerns or queries please contact us on the dedicated email recycling@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk or 0300 013 3333 - select option 1. Unfortunately, if someone continues to use their grey bin for food waste despite all the Council's advice and support, their grey bin will not be emptied until the situation is remedied.