Swill: what is it?

Swill or organic waste

Swill is essentially all organic kitchen waste, both cooked and uncooked. If you have a kitchen where food is prepared, you have swill. Think of food leftovers, fish and meat scraps, sauces, bread and dairy.

Separating swill

Swill often ends up in the residual waste. That's a shame, because it's easy to recycle and you can save a lot of money with a swill container. If you have a lot of organic waste, it's well worth separating it.

Swill or organic waste

The difference between swill and VFG waste

VFG waste and swill look similar, but there are some differences. VFG stands for Vegetable, Fruit and Garden waste. This is mainly peelings or leftovers of vegetables and fruit, and of course garden waste. Swill is mainly organic waste from a commercial kitchen. Garden waste is not allowed in it.

Heated food and bits of bone may also go in the VFG bin, but it's mostly uncooked waste. A swill container, on the other hand, often contains a lot of heated food as well as more meat and fish waste. The processing method is based on this too.

How is swill recycled?

Recycling swill is highly sustainable. Organic waste can easily be processed into new raw materials:

  • Biogas
  • Biodiesel
  • Digestate (sustainable fertiliser)

After collection, the organic waste is heated to kill harmful bacteria and then ground into a pulp. This is followed by fermentation, which releases biogas.

Biogas

Biogas is a sustainable energy source obtained from organic waste and consists on average of 60% methane and 35% carbon dioxide. It is a green fuel for machinery and vehicles. Using biogas as a fuel limits the release of methane (a potent greenhouse gas).

By further drying and purifying biogas, a green gas is produced with the same quality as natural gas.

Biodiesel

Fermenting swill releases vegetable and animal fats. These are used to produce the biofuel biodiesel. Biodiesel is biodegradable and releases less sulphur oxide and carbon monoxide when burned.

Digestate

Digestate is the biomass left over after swill has been fermented. It has the same properties as compost and is therefore used in agriculture and horticulture.

What can go in?

  • Fruit and vegetables
  • Dairy
  • Sauces
  • Cooked food leftovers
  • Meat scraps (from preparation)
  • Fish scraps (from preparation)
  • Eggshells
  • Bread
  • (Chicken) bones
  • Leftover fat or gravy

What can't go in?

  • Coffee capsules/pods/filters
  • Tea bags
  • Garden waste
  • Residual waste
  • Paper/cardboard
  • Wood
  • Stone
  • Plastic
  • Slaughterhouse waste
  • Deep-fat frying oil
  • Paper/cardboard

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Swill: what is it? — ContainerOnline