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Composting - Brown bin scheme

No more cardboard in brown composting bins from 17 October

Kerbside Composting (Brown Bin) Scheme

Latest compost scheme update

From mid October 2011 we will no longer be able to collect cardboard in brown bins. This means that only garden waste and food waste can be collected in residents’ brown bins. 

Why is the compost service changing?

The composting industry has developed a new compost quality standard called PAS100:2011 and all Councils’ composting services, across the country, have to meet this standard.

The main change is that cardboard can no longer be included in the waste stream because of its potential to contaminate the compost product. The contaminants include plastic from over-packaged cardboard, steel from the staples included within the cardboard packaging, plus dyes and inks that are used in cardboard packaging.

This change will affect all local authorities in the UK who collect cardboard along with garden and food waste including ourselves, Derby City and Derbyshire Dales in Derbyshire.

Is cardboard worth recycling?

Very definitely yes! Cardboard can be recycled and reused many times over.  You can find your nearest recycling centre with cardboard banks here or by calling the Customer Contact Centre on 01283 595 795.  A number of South Derbyshire schools raise funds from recycling cardboard through the Council’s Cash for Trash scheme, please ask the Customer Contact Centre for details.  

Brown bin composting scheme 

We collect kitchen waste and garden waste from households in South Derbyshire and take it to special In Vessel Composting (IVC) facilities in Ashbourne and Etwall. The waste is composted in sealed units under temperature-controlled conditions, which allow meat and fish waste to compost down before it is transferred outside to open windrows (compost heaps).

You may compost the following types of waste in your brown bin:

  • Food Leftovers
  • Vegetable Peelings
  • Meat and Fish
  • Fruit and Salad
  • Stale Bread
  • Tea Bags and Coffee Grounds
  • Grass Cuttings
  • Weeds and Leaves
  • Flowers / Plants  
  • Pet Straw / Sawdust
  • Flowers and Plants

We cannot accept the following types of waste in your brown bin:

  • Cardboard
  • Shredded paper
  • Plastic or Foil
  • Milk or Juice cartons
  • Polystyrene
  • Sticky Tape
  • Bubble Wrap
  • Staples
  • Soil, Stones or Rubble
  • Dog or Cat Waste
  • Home or Garden Chemicals
  • Textiles


 

Contact details

South Derbyshire District Council
Waste Development Team
Civic Offices
Civic Way
Swadlincote
Derbyshire
DE11 0AH

Tel: 01283 595795
Online: contact form
email: waste.cleansing@south-derbys.gov.uk - please include your name and address on your email, as it helps us to send a reply with the correct information much faster 

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