Tower Hamlets council has expanded its food waste recycling service to thousands more households in a bid to improve recycling rates across the borough, which has the lowest household recycling rate in the UK at just 17 per cent, according to the latest Defra statistics.
The council has completed the first week of collections under the expanded service, with 5,934 additional households now able to recycle their food waste separately from general rubbish.
The latest phase has seen 283 communal food waste bins delivered to council-managed estates, including 219 large 240-litre bins and 64 smaller 140-litre bins. The rollout has reached 31.5 per cent of the council’s own housing stock so far, with further areas set to follow in phases.
The first collections took place on Monday, October 12, with residents provided with kitchen caddies, compostable liners and information explaining how to use the service.
Around 30 per cent of rubbish thrown away in Tower Hamlets is food waste, which the council hopes to divert from general waste collections to help boost its recycling performance.
Residents can place leftovers, fruit and vegetable peelings, bones, tea bags and coffee grounds in their kitchen caddies before transferring the waste to communal bins, which are emptied weekly.
The collected waste is taken to ReFood, a specialist facility where it is processed to produce biogas, a source of renewable energy, alongside fertiliser and compost for agriculture.
Councillor Shafi Ahmed, cabinet member for a Clean and Green Borough, said the first collections marked an important milestone, adding that separating food waste from general rubbish could make a significant difference.
The council is working with landlords, housing providers and managing agents to extend the service across the borough, with the aim of giving all residents the opportunity to recycle food waste separately.
Alongside the new service, residents are being encouraged to reduce food waste by planning meals, storing food correctly and making use of leftovers.
The expansion forms part of the council’s wider efforts to make recycling easier and improve its performance, following the publication of Defra figures showing Tower Hamlets recorded a household recycling rate of 17 per cent in 2024/25, the lowest in England.