"Recycling your food waste can make a real difference. It’s a simple step that helps protect the environment and make the most of resources that would otherwise go to waste."
Leader of the Council, Jeremy Kite MBE
From November 2026 we will be running food waste collection from houses across Dartford, with communal food waste services for flats comming into effect in early 2027.
Households will have two caddies. One is an indoor caddy to use inside their homes and one is a lockable outdoor caddy to leave outside for collections that has been designed so that foxes and other pests can't get inside.
The video below explains the difference between both caddies.
Your indoor caddy
Most people keep this caddy in the kitchen so plate scrapings, scraps, skins and peels can go straight in.
To keep it clean, you can use compostable liners (available from most supermarkets and online) or line it with newspaper.
Plastic bags must not be used to line your caddy
Your outdoor caddy
Every few days, or when it’s full, empty the contents of your indoor caddy into your outdoor caddy.
Lock the lid by putting the handle in the down position.
Put this caddy out for collection on your normal weekly refuse collection day alongside your green bin
Why are we collecting food waste separately?
Around 30 per cent of the average household bin is made up of food waste. By collecting this material separately, it can be recycled through a specialist process called anaerobic digestion, where it is converted into renewable energy and fertiliser rather than being disposed of with general waste.
The Council expects the service to divert at least 5,000 tonnes of food waste from the general waste service every year, delivering significant environmental benefits while also helping to reduce disposal costs.