The brown bin is for waste that can be composted.  This is generally food waste and garden waste.

It is essential that only items that can be composted are placed into your brown bin.  If any other items (such as plastic bags or glass) are placed into this bin, we will be unable to empty it.  Even if plastic bags say that they are degradable, they should not be put into the brown bin.

To help keep your brown bin and kitchen caddy clean you can buy the special compostable corn starch liners from South Hams District Council.  You could also wrap your food waste in newspaper or use paper liners.

South Hams District Council does not have an obligation to collect garden waste.  The brown bins are intended to be primarily for food waste, but we have provided additional capacity to allow residents to compost some of their garden waste.  

If you have more garden waste than will fit into your brown bin we will not be able to provide you with another brown bin, instead you will need to take your garden waste to a recycling centre, compost it at home or ask a private company to collect it from you.  If you use a private company, ensure that they have a valid waste carrier’s license.

If your brown bin or kitchen caddy is stolen or damaged we will replace or repair it, free of charge.

We compost the waste that we collect from the brown bins at an In-Vessel Composting plant (IVC) at Heathfield near Kingsteignton.  The waste collected from the brown bins is shredded and then fed into indoor, concrete bays where the environmental conditions (including temperature, moisture and aeration) are closely controlled.  An IVC can compost large amounts of organic waste without using a large area and in a short space of time.  Once the compost is removed from the bays it is left to mature before it can be used as a soil conditioner.  

What Goes into the Brown Bin?