MYTH: All the food waste is thrown into the same cart with all the other waste
FACT: At first, the refuse collectors go from property to property with a red wheelie bin emptying the food waste collected from the caddies into it. Then when that is full the food waste is emptied into a separate compartment of the bin lorry.
MYTH: All the food waste is taken to the Energy from Waste plant
FACT: Collected food waste is sent to an anaerobic digestion facility in Hertfordshire where it's turned into fertiliser for agriculture and biogas which is used to generate renewable electricity for homes.
MYTH: The council makes loads of money from food waste collections by selling the fertiliser
FACT: All waste and recycling—including food waste—incurs a treatment cost. The council doesn’t profit from this, but we pay around 88 per cent less to dispose of food waste than we do compared to black bin waste.
MYTH: The food waste caddy is smelly, unhygienic and attracts vermin.
FACT: Because food waste is collected every week it should not sit around long enough to cause odour issues. Householders are issued with a small grey caddy for their kitchen and green liners to keep these caddies clean. They also have a lid to reduce smells. Once full the green liners of food waste go into the larger Hungry Harry Caddy which is kept outside. This larger caddy has a lockable handle to keep the lid secure and should prevent animals from getting inside the caddy.
MYTH: It all ends up in landfill anyway
Collected food waste goes into a separate compartment on the bin lorry and is taken to a specialised anaerobic digestion plant. Here, it is broken down to produce renewable energy (biogas) and organic fertiliser which is spread on the land.
MYTH: I don't produce any food waste so I don’t need a caddy
Everyone produces food waste. Even small amounts of waste, such as tea bags, coffee grounds, eggshells, or potato, carrot or other vegetable and fruit peelings all add up. Using a caddy often helps residents realise how much food waste they actually produce.
MYTH: I already compost, so I don't need it
FACT: While home composting is great, our food waste service can accept items that are hard to compost at home such as meat, fish, dairy, and cooked food.
MYTH: I don’t have time to separate food waste
If you keep your caddy close to where you prepare food it doesn’t take any extra time to use the service. We provide rolls of green liners to go in the caddies which are removed as part of the waste processing. However, you can use newspaper or any bags to go in the caddy as we remove these as part of the sorting process.
MYTH: My household waste won’t make any difference
FACT: If everyone in Peterborough recycled their food waste, the biogas created could generate enough electricity to power thousands of homes.
Currently just over a quarter (27 per cent) of black bin waste is made up of food waste – if all of this was put in the food waste caddy it could save the council £1.2 million a year.
MYTH: I don’t have any liners so I can’t take part
FACT: You do not have to use anything in the caddy. Food can be placed directly into the caddy or it can be wrapped in newspaper or you can line the caddy with newspaper, kitchen roll or compostable liners from the supermarket.
MYTH: Hardly any food waste is collected each year
FACT: Last year, from the kerbside food waste collections, we collected 4,700 tonnes of food waste - roughly the weight of 800 African elephants.
MYTH: What about cooking oil, is it really allowed to go in the grey caddy?
FACT: Yes, cooled cooking oil in 1 litre bottles can be put in the outdoor caddy for collection. This is the best way to dispose of cooking oil.
We would strongly advise against pouring cooking oil, grease, and fat down the sink as it can solidify in your pipes and cause blockages. When hot fat or cooking oil is tipped down the sink it prevents flows of sewage and can lead to fatbergs forming.