Over one hundred flats above shops in Sutton are set to receive new food waste bins as part of an upcoming trial to provide all households with access to a food waste recycling service.
> The trial is part of service improvements being made as part of the new recycling and waste contract between Veolia and Sutton Council that came into effect in April 2025.
▁▁▁
From 27 October, a food waste recycling service is being rolled out to 111 flats above shops across Sutton in a trial that will enable residents to recycle food for the first time. Shared outdoor food waste bins will be installed beside litter bins to allow residents living in these trial flats above shops to participate in food waste recycling.
The trial will help to design a wider phased introduction of food waste recycling for over 1000 flats above shops in Sutton, which will ensure that every resident is able to recycle their food waste regardless of the property they live in.
Indoor food waste caddies have been delivered to the participating households, with residents encouraged to fill them with peelings, eggshells, tea bags and other food waste before depositing the contents into shared outdoor bins for weekly collections.
The introduction of food waste recycling builds on another trial rolled out to flats above shops in Sutton’s busiest areas which sees their recycling and waste collected overnight to keep the streets clean.
This latest trial also follows wider changes to the recycling and waste collection service in Sutton. Since Veolia began a new contract with Sutton Council in April 2025, the efficiency of the collection service has been improved by changing collection routes. Meanwhile, a bookable collection service for small electricals, batteries and textiles has been introduced to encourage residents to recycle items that cannot go into household bins. To find out more and to book a collection, visit sutton.gov.uk/w/small-items-recycling-collection-1
