Tuesday 16th June 2026
By Bridlington Gold Radio Editor
A series of compost giveaways held across the East Riding once again drew big crowds, with thousands of residents turning out to collect free bags of soil improver.
Drivers queued at eight events organised by East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s waste and recycling team, where each household was able to pick up two free bags. In total, around 5,000 bags were handed out — the equivalent of 60 tonnes of compost — all produced locally from the food and garden waste residents place in their brown bins throughout the year.
Councillor Paul West, the council’s cabinet member for environment and transport, said he was delighted to see the giveaways remain as popular as ever.
“We’ve held these giveaways for a number of years now and I’m really pleased they were as popular as ever this year. It’s our way of giving something back for all the efforts local residents make in recycling their rubbish in their brown and blue bins. They are helping the East Riding stay as one of the top performing areas in the country for recycling waste.”
The council recently expanded its weekly food waste collections, with two‑thirds of East Riding households now receiving weekly brown bin pick‑ups. The remaining homes will join the scheme next February.
Residents can use their brown bins to recycle all cooked and uncooked food, out‑of‑date items, peelings, plate scrapings, bones, meat, bread, eggshells, teabags and small amounts of sauces and gravies, as well as garden waste such as grass cuttings, hedge trimmings, small branches, leaves, flowers and weeds.
More information is available at eastriding.gov.uk/foodwaste.