Lancaster City Council says two tonnes of waste has already been stopped from entering landfill as rollout of a scheme to reintroduce food recycling continues.
New food waste caddies are being delivered to households across the Lancaster and Morecambe District throughout February and March.
Householders will be given a new seven-litre kitchen caddy and a 23-litre external food waste bin - or communal bin where appropriate - to recycle food separately from their other waste.
They will also receive two rolls of kitchen caddy liners, a leaflet with instructions on how to use the service, and a printed waste and recycling collection calendar.
Weekly food waste collections will begin the week after delivery of the caddies.
The scheme is being reintroduced by Lancaster City Council, who are responsible for waste collection across the district, to comply with government recycling reforms.
The national initiative requires all councils in England to collect household food waste separately by March 31 2026 to boost recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfill or incineration.
The new service accepts all types of food waste, including: leftovers; dairy products; fruit; vegetables; rice; pasta; beans; baked goods; meat; fish; bones; tea bags; and coffee grounds.
Once collected, the waste will go to Lancashire County Council’s anaerobic digestion facility in Leyland to be transformed into renewable biogas for electricity, and nutrient-rich fertiliser for farmland.
"A huge thank you to everyone who has already recycled food waste," said a Lancaster City Council spokesperson.
"So far, you have saved almost two tonnes of food waste entering landfill or incineration — that will instead be recycled.
"Please put your food waste out the front of your property, even if your other bins are collected from an alley.
"By recognising the value in our rubbish we have the power to make a big difference."
The council has been answering residents' questions about the scheme on its Facebook page HERE.
The return of food waste recycling for the first time since a previous scheme was scrapped in 2016, is the second of three phases of changes to waste collection across the Lancaster and Morecambe District, which got under way last year.
It began with the replacement of 55 litre recycling boxes with 240 litre wheelie bins for for glass, plastic and tins; and cardboard and paper.
The third phase will begin from April 2026, when fortnightly collections of non-recyclable waste (grey bins); plastics, glass and cans; and paper and cardboard, will change to three-weekly collections.
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