Food waste

A roll-out of food waste bins for villas and terraced houses will begin in March 2022. All households are expected to be included in the scheme as of May 2022.

The standard solution is for food waste to be collected in dual-compartment bins designed for food waste and residual waste. If you have a standard 140-litre or 190-litre residual waste bin, it will be replaced with a 240-litre, dual-compartment bin the same size as the paper/glass and plastic/metal bins. Generally speaking, households that have multiple bins for residual waste, or different-sized bins, will be supplied with a separate 140-litre food waste bin.

View your food waste and residual waste bin solution and find out when we expect to deliver your bin. (page in Danish)

When the existing residual waste bins are replaced, you will have the option to keep your current residual waste bin and use it for garden waste. We will leave a sign in your mailbox in the weeks leading up to the delivery of new bins. You will need to place this on your residual waste bin if you want to keep the bin for your garden waste.

We will leave the residual waste bins that have these signs and re-label them so they can be used for garden waste in the future. Bins without signs will be removed when we deliver the new bins.

Please note that Gentofte Kommune is not responsible for maintenance and repair of repurposed bins and that they must be taken to the boundary of your property on collection day before 7 am just like other garden waste bins.

Food waste must only be sorted into the green bags we distribute. The bags are for food waste only and must not be used for your residual waste or for other purposes.

Do not overfill the bag and always tie a knot. Place it in the container carefully so that it does not burst.

Refer to the Yes please/No thanks lists to see how to sort your food waste:

Yes please:

• All food waste without packaging (both cooked and raw)
• Bread and cakes
• Fruit and vegetables
• Meat, cold cuts, bones
• Leftover rice, potato, porridge and pasta
• Cheese and milk products
• Eggshells
• Seafood and fish
• Coffee grounds, coffee filters and tea bags
• Cut flowers
• Fat and gravy

No thanks:

• Nappies, sanitary towels, cotton buds and disposable wipes (residual waste)
• Pizza trays (residual waste)
• Napkins and kitchen paper (residual waste)
• Garden waste (garden waste)
• Cat litter (residual waste)
• Pet bedding (residual waste)
• Biodegradable plastic (residual waste)
• Potted plants and soil (garden waste)
• Ash and cigarette butts (residual waste)

Food waste must only be sorted into the free green bags we distribute.

See below how to get new bags if you live in a villa/terraced house or a flat respectively.

Please note that you can also pick up food waste bags from the recycling centre and at Borgerservice.

Get new bags – villas/terraced houses:

If you live in a villa or a terraced house, tie an empty bag to the handle of your food waste bin (before you run out of food waste bags). This is a signal to our collectors that you’re running out of bags, and they will leave new bags on your bin lid for you after emptying the bin.

Get new bags – flats:

If you live in a flat, you can obtain more bags from a centrally located box, e.g. in the courtyard, or by contacting the person in charge of waste at your property.
The person in charge of waste, e.g. a caretaker, manager or administrator, must order new bags for your box.

The person in charge of waste at the property can order new food waste bags here. (page in Danish)

Recycling food waste makes better use of resources than continuing to incinerate it. Your sorted food waste will be used to produce natural gas and fertiliser for growing crops.

See an illustration showing how resources are used and recirculated from kitchen waste to produce natural gas and nutrients to spread on agricultural land. (Illustration i Danish)

You can prevent the food waste bin from smelling or attracting flies, etc., by not overfilling the bag.

Always tie a knot in the bag and place it in the bin gently to avoid bursting it.
Replace the bag more frequently in warm weather to avoid bad odours and flies in your home.

All households receive a green kitchen caddy simultaneously with delivery of new food waste bins. The caddy, which you can choose to use in your kitchen, is intended to help you sort waste.

If your kitchen caddy breaks, you can get a new one by writing to (waste and recycling) Affald og Genbrug

If you live in a flat, you should contact the person in charge of waste at your property. He/she will contact Affald og Genbrug (waste and recycling) to order more kitchen caddies.

You can also get a new kitchen caddy by contacting the staff at the recycling centre.

You had a small green kitchen caddy delivered simultaneously with new food waste bins. The caddy is intended to help you sort waste.

If you live in a villa or a terraced house, and if you don’t wish to use your kitchen caddy, you can hand it in at the recycling station in the hazardous and electronic waste building.

If you live in a flat, you can hand your caddy in to the person in charge of waste at your property, who can keep it in reserve.

If you find that the food waste bin is repeatedly overfilled, as the owner of a villa/terraced house, you can order a separate food waste bin or a bigger bin, depending on the solution you already have.

If you live in a flat, you must contact the person in charge of waste so that he/she can change the size or number of bins required.

Go to the bins page to learn more about changing bins. (page in Danish)

As the owner of a villa or a terraced house, you must arrange for your food waste bin to be cleaned. By tying a knot in your food waste bags and avoiding overfilling, you can prevent food waste from leaking out into the bin and soiling it.

In flats, the person in charge of waste must ensure that the food waste bins are cleaned at regular intervals.

Food waste weighs more than other waste. Out of consideration for our collectors, therefore, please do not fill the food waste bin completely.

On the inside of the bin, there is a marker with the text “Fyldes hertil” (“Fill to here”). Food waste bags must not be piled higher than the specified limit, as that would make the container too heavy to move.

If the waste repeatedly cannot be kept below the mark, as the owner of a villa/terraced house, you must order a separate bin for your food waste or a larger bin, depending on the solution you already have.

If you live in a flat, you must contact the person in charge of waste so that he/she can change the size or number of bins required.

Go to the bins page to learn more about changing bins. (page in Danish)