Sevenoaks recycling hits record high as food waste rounds collect 220 tonnes in a month

Sevenoaks District Council says recycling across the district has reached a record high, after its new weekly food waste collections gathered 220 tonnes of food scraps in their first month alone. The council reports the change has lifted the overall recycling rate by 6 per cent and pushed Sevenoaks into the top quarter of Kent councils for food waste recycling. The figures cover the opening month of a service that started at the end of April.

The figures

Weekly food waste collections began for most homes in the district on 27 April 2026, the first stage of a wider overhaul of bins and recycling. According to the council, the early results are:

• 220 tonnes of food waste collected in the first month of the new service.
• Around 58 tonnes of food waste now recycled every week.
• An extra 6 per cent added to the district’s overall recycling rate from food waste alone.
• A ranking in the top 25 per cent of Kent councils for food waste recycling.

The council says the 220 tonnes can be turned into about 80,000 kWh of energy, enough to power roughly 30 family homes for a year, because food waste is processed differently from general rubbish. (Sevenoaks District Council, Recycling rates reach record high across the District)

Cllr Irene Roy, the council’s Cabinet Member for Cleaner and Greener, said: “Residents are already recycling around 58 tonnes of food waste every week, contributing an extra 6% to our overall recycling rate.” (Sevenoaks District Council, Recycling rates reach record high across the District)

How it fits the wider bin shake-up

Food waste is the first part of the council’s £9.05 million “BIG recycling upgrade”, the biggest change to the district’s collections in decades. The council also says a separate move, the reusable green recycling sacks introduced in 2024, has lifted recycling of cardboard, paper, plastics and household items by 3.5 per cent. Those sacks are due to be phased out in October 2026, a change the council estimates will save £225,000. (Sevenoaks District Council, Recycling rates reach record high across the District)

The autumn is when the rest of the overhaul lands. From October 2026, most households are due to receive two free wheelie bins, one for general waste and one for recycling, with glass bottles and jars collected at the kerbside for the first time, and general waste and recycling moving to alternate weeks. Food waste stays weekly. We set out the full rollout, and what it means for your bill and your bin day, in our report on the council’s waste and council tax decisions.

What it means for you

For most homes in houses, the food waste round is already running and the figures above are the early payoff. The practical points for residents:

• Use both caddies. Households were given a small grey caddy for the kitchen and a larger black and orange caddy for the kerb. The food round is weekly.
• More changes are coming this autumn. Expect wheelie bins and a switch to alternate weekly general waste and recycling from October, with formal notice from the council nearer the time.
• Check your own schedule. Your collection day and the exact services for your address are on the council’s rubbish and recycling pages, and our Sevenoaks bin collection days guide explains how to find them.

Where the figures come from

The recycling totals and percentages above are the council’s own, published on its news pages on 28 May 2026. As with all of our reporting, we link to the original so you can read it in full and check the numbers for yourself.

Sources

• Sevenoaks District Council, Recycling rates reach record high across the District (28 May 2026, all figures and the Cllr Irene Roy quote)
• Sevenoaks District Council, Rubbish and recycling

Chart by Sevenoaks Online from the council’s published figures.