Essex residents are being urged to put their food waste in the correct bin to – and help generate energy to power homes.

Launching the Power Up campaign, Essex County Council says that 30% of general rubbish is still food – despite all households having free weekly food recycling collections.

Food collected from households is sent to an anaerobic digestion facility in Dagenham, where it’s converted into energy for homes and fertiliser for Essex farms. But when food is placed in the general rubbish, it can sit in these bins for two or three weeks before collection, causing unpleasant odours.

Rolling out from September, the Power Up will see around 400,000 Essex households receive a free roll of compostable food caddy liners, a reminder sticker placed on their general rubbish bin and an information leaflet about food recycling.

To find out more about the campaign, visit: www.loveessex.org/food-recycling