What we are doing to reduce waste in Essex

The best environmental approach to waste management is to apply the principles of the waste hierarchy. Here are some examples of what we've already been doing to reduce waste and increase reuse and recycling! Keep checking back for more updates.

Hand placing a banana skin in a food recycling caddy.

Hand placing a plastic bottle into a recycling bin.

Tackling food waste

In 2023, we worked together to tackle food waste. Roughly 25% of waste thrown away in the general rubbish bin is food. Throwing away food that could have been eaten adds £83 a month to the average food shopping bill. Not only is this a waste of money but it also damages the environment. Funded and delivered by the partnership, households in Essex received support to reduce food waste and recycle more.

Through the year-long Love Essex, Love Food campaign, we provided ideas and inspiration to help residents reduce food waste at home. We are also in the process of providing a roll of free caddy liners and an information leaflet to increase the proportion of food waste being recycled. In addition to this, we have secured long-term treatment options for separately collected food recycling, so we can generate renewable energy from this waste.

Plastic

In January 2023, Maldon District Council launched a pilot for the collection of plastic bags and wrapping as part of normal recycling collections. Plastics such as plastic bags, confectionary wrappers, foil-lined packaging, plastic film, bubble wrap, pet food pouches and more will be collected from eligible households. The trial has been successful so far, and roughly 12,500 properties are included. It's expected that the service will expand to all residents in the district by 2025. This trial will help make recycling plastic bags and wrapping more convenient, increase the amount of plastic packaging recycled and reduce the amount of plastics going to landfill.

Two people holding shoes, tin and teddy baking mold.

Hands filling a bag from refill shop dispensers.

Freegle

The Essex Waste Partnership has funded and promoted the provision of an online platform for reuse that enables residents to give and get items for free. With nearly 90,000 members in Essex, this initiative helped households swap over 14,000 items in 2022-23.

Love Essex Fund

Through microgrants and promotional activity, we have supported local organisations, individuals and schools with projects that create or inspire a reduction in household waste. We have provided microgrants to over 130 community recycling projects and a further 40 microgrants to schools. Refill shops, clothes swaps and repair services across the county are just some of the activities that have received support. These initiatives help and inspire people and communities to reduce their waste and be more sustainable.