Skip to content
Over 2,000 more homes added to Exeter’s food waste collection service
Another 2,000 more properties in Exeter are set to receive kerbside food waste collections later this month, the City Council has announced, as the roll-out of the scheme continues.
The latest areas of the city set to benefit from the roll-out will be parts of St Leonards.
More than 2,000 homes will start on the scheme from 23 June.
Caddies are being delivered to the properties next week, from Monday 12 to Friday 16 June. Letters and leaflets are being posted to the relevant addresses this week.
More than 18,000 homes in the city are already part of the scheme. The roll-out began in 2021 and parts of Alphington, Beacon Heath, Cowick, Exwick, Heavitree, Mincinglake Pinhoe, Pennsylvania, Polsloe, St James, St Loyes, St Thomas, Stoke Hill, and Whipton Barton are now receiving regular weekly collections of their food waste.
Cllr Ruth Williams, Lead Councillor for Place and City Management said: “Adding these latest properties to the roll-out will bring the total of homes now receiving food waste collections to over 20,000.
“We have still got a fair way to go but we are getting there and in the last twelve months we have added over 12,000 extra homes to the roll-out.
“I would ask people to be patient with the roll-out, as more and more households are added to the scheme. The message is: please don’t contact us, we will contact you in plenty of time, explaining when your area is starting, how the scheme works and delivering your caddies.”
The initiative will continue to be gradually introduced across the whole of the city. Once complete it is expected that the city’s recycling rate will see a dramatic increase, as food waste is 38% of a typical black bin in Exeter, according to the latest analysis carried out in 2022.
Exeter City Council encourages people to only buy what they are likely to consume and is currently the best performing of all Devon’s district councils when it comes to producing the least amount of waste per head. This has decreased by a further 3kg per head in 2020/21 to 293kg per person.
However, adding a food waste collection service helps the planet and the battle against climate change by reducing carbon emissions, as well as increasing the city’s recycling rate.
Once collected, the food waste is sent off to be turned into soil improver while generating gas and electricity.
As part of the food waste collections, each household will receive a 23-litre kerbside caddy as well as a 5-litre kitchen caddy.
A dedicated page has been set up on the Council’s website to deal with questions about the service, including how to line the caddy or bag up the food waste.
Dates for the rest of the city are still being looked at and will be clearly communicated with residents as the roll-out moves forward. People are being requested not to call the Council but to visit the website where a set of frequently asked questions is available.
To find out more information about food waste collections go to the City Council website at
