Food waste in Havering is set to be collected weekly in a separate bin starting from next year.

Havering Council has announced that a new food waste collection service is proposed to be rolled out to all kerbside properties in the borough from October 2025, with communal flats to follow after.

Residents would be provided with a five-litre kitchen caddy and one roll of caddy liners delivered annually.

Those who live at a kerbside property would also get a 23-litre outdoor caddy with a locking handle, while flats with a communal waste collection would have a 240-litre "secure" bin - either attached to a wall or free standing.

According to Havering Council's Food Waste Strategy document, the communal bins would be emptied on a "specified" day by a food waste collection crew.

Kerbside properties would be asked to put their caddy out on the same day as black bags and orange recycling bags.

The types of food residents would be able to recycle include food scraps like eggshells, cooked or raw meat and fish, bread, teabags and ground coffee, as well as fruit and vegetables.

The council hopes this separate collection service will help to reduce food waste in the borough, alongside its Love Food, Hate Waste campaign, which provides training sessions and resources to help prevent waste at home.

More than 40 per cent of black bag rubbish in Havering is food waste, according to the campaign's web page, although the council did not provide a timescale for when its study took place or for how long.

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The council has opened a consultation on the food waste service to understand its potential impact on households, and to help provide "the best service possible" for the borough.

Residents will be able to "shape" how the new service is provided next year through an online survey or several drop-in engagement events.

These will be held at Upminster Library on November 9, Harold Wood Library on November 14 and Collier Row Library on November 20.

The consultation closes on November 30, with more details to be found at consultation.havering.gov.uk/environment/haverings-new-food-waste-collection/.