Eastbourne food waste collections coming in 2026

The Environment Act 2021 included a requirement that household food waste is to be collected weekly. Government has made new funding available for this purpose.

In March 2024, Eastbourne Borough Council received capital funding from government for the purchase of food bins (internal kitchen caddies and external kerbside caddies) and food waste collection vehicles.

This funding has been provided to local authorities that need to implement a weekly food waste collection service, which is due to start in 2026.

Setting up the new service

Further government funding is expected in the next two years, to support the setting up of the service and to cover its ongoing costs.

What will happen with food waste after collection?

Food waste from households in Eastbourne will be taken to the Woodlands In-Vessel Composting Facility in Whitesmith, East Sussex.

The facility is capable of processing 60,000 tonnes of biodegradable waste a year. It already handles garden waste from Eastbourne and food waste from Lewes district, as well as garden waste from other local authorities in East Sussex and Brighton & Hove.

Once the food waste arrives at Woodlands it is shredded together with garden waste, loaded into a series of enclosed tunnels and brought up to a temperature that sterilizes the mixture by destroying harmful bacteria like E.coli and Salmonella. The mixture is laid out in the large hall to mature before being sieved and graded ready for distribution as soil conditioner for use in gardens, parks and agricultural land. Residents can buy the product from their local household waste recycling site. By the end of the composting process, the food and garden waste inputs have been reduced by 75%.

How can I keep updated?

We will publish more information on this page as the plans for food waste collections in Eastbourne develop. We will share information about how the service will work and when it will start in our waste and recycling email newsletters.

To sign-up for our email newsletters, visit www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/keep-me-posted