Food waste
A phased roll-out of weekly household food waste collections will launch across the District in March 2026. Your refuse and recycling collections will continue as usual every two weeks: these new food waste collections are an additional service.
We'll be adding more information about the new service to this webpage soon and writing to all households in January 2026 about how the service will work.
Why we are introducing food waste collections
Food waste collections are being introduced to help us improve our recycling rates as well as to comply with new legislation under the Government's Simpler Recycling scheme that will create consistency in the way recycling, food waste and garden waste are collected across the country.
Where will our collected food waste go?
The food waste collected will be recycled via anaerobic digestion to create biofertiliser and energy. This biofertiliser is used for farmers’ fields and the energy provides power for the plant, with any excess exported to the national grid to be used in homes.
How much of our rubbish is food waste?
More than 40% of the rubbish in an average Horsham District bin is made up of food waste. Much of this food waste can be easily avoided, saving you money and helping you to protect the environment.
Tips to reduce your food waste
The good news is that there a few simple things your family can do to reduce food waste.
- Shop smart by planning meals, making a shopping list and buying seasonal produce
- Batch cook and freeze the rest.
- Before throwing food out, consider whether it can be frozen to be used another day
- Think about how any leftovers can be used to form the basis of another meal, such as soups, sauces or sandwiches
- Compost any peelings and eggshells.
Read more sustainable food tips on our climate and environment webpages.