Food waste

2,700 tonnes of food waste is separately collected in Gravesham per year.

This is taken to a food recycling plant in West Malling, Kent. It is used to either produce compost or electricity through an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant.

The plant turns food waste into a biogas, a renewable source of energy. This powers the plant and over 3,000 homes each year.

Watch what happens to the food waste on Kent County Council's YouTube channel.

How do we collect food waste?

Our refuse lorries have a separate pod for food waste. Collection crews collect food waste in a wheelie bin and then put it in the separate pod.

From September 2025 all food waste will be collected by separate vehicles and crews. This will mean waste cannot be mixed and collected at different times during the day.