Food waste recycling buddy needed

Hi everyone

I want to start using a food bin to cut down on the waste that goes to landfill from our flat.

Unfortunately I live in a small private block of flats and we don’t have food waste bins. We also don’t have a recycling bin (I have to walk 5 mins to a big block of flats to recycle). The building manager doesn’t think there’s room for anymore bins!

I would like to find a buddy nearby who is happy for me to drop off our food waste to be collected by the council or to be composted. Is anyone interested in being my eco warrior buddy ? I live near the top (northern end) of Kirkdale.

Thanks

Hi Esme,

We have the same issue - I live near Sydenham Girls school on Westwood Hill.

Let me know if you find a common collection point!

Best
Alex

I would love to be involved somehow! I have no knowledge of making compost or where to store it* but I do know of a man in Yorkshire who does the rounds on his bike collecting food scraps from the neighbourhood and has bought some sort of digester that makes amazing compost. I may pay him a visit some time soon.

Please keep me posted.

*I am, sadly, quite cynical about where recycling generally ends up and would love to try to create or add to a compost initiative as a separate community thing.

Perhaps I can find a local allotment that would partner up with us? I’ll do some research!

That might work but you’d need to make sure there were no meat \ other types of food that might attract rats etc - not sure the precise requirements.

Maybe also someone locally with a garden and composter might be happy for you to compost veg?

Perhaps we can help you at OTHAS, I will double check and let you know. You can compost anything that has come from the earth, you can also compost meat but cooked food waste, meat and bones will attract rats and mice into the garden or plot which is obviously not ideal, you also can’t compost perennial weed roots and weed seed.

That would be amazing thanks happy to just compost fruit and veg waste

Lewisham Council have recently released the results of the recycling consultation they ran earlier in the year which includes the following:

The Council are now at a point where we are seeking to roll out the food waste collection to the next phase by extending it to properties on red routes. Once this has been done, the food collection will then be rolled out to flats and estates. The plan is to eventually have a food waste collection service in place for all households and flats in the borough. .

However there are no details of how long it will be until flats are included in the food waste collection.

Hi Esme,
I’ve also got the same problem and have tried speaking to Lewisham council multiple times about it and reached out on here previously. If you do find somewhere to compost can you let me know as I would love to be able to reduce my waste! Happy to help in any way as well!

I’d love to be able donate my fruit and veg scraps to compost too if that’s an option?