Colouring competition for children: design your dream food caddy
To mark the roll-out of food waste to flats across the borough, we’re inviting children to design their dream food waste caddy (bin) - full of colour, personality and imagination. Think fun faces, bold patterns, or anything that would make them proud to use their food waste caddy every day.
The winning designs will be turned into full-size stickers, created in-house to fit the front of their caddy at home. Winners will also enjoy a special visit to our depot to see our waste and recycling trucks up close.
Three winning designs will be chosen by the Mayor of Lewisham, Liam Shrivastava and Cabinet Member for Environment, Nature, Transport and Climate Action, Cllr Corin Ashwell.
Cllr Corin Ashwell said:
“We’re encouraging children to have fun with colour and creativity and to think about how their design could inspire their household to recycle more food waste. This competition is a great way to make that learning fun, creative and part of everyday life at home.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing all the fantastic designs - I’m sure it will be very difficult to choose our winners.”
How to enter
Open to children aged 5–11 who live in the borough. We also welcome entries from children and young people with additional needs or SEND outside of this age range.
Use the official A4 template (download online or pick up from your local library).
Entries must:
- use the official template
- include all required details on the template
- be original, creative and full of colour
- be submitted by 5pm on Sunday 26 July
Send your entry to recyclingadvisors@lewisham.gov.uk with the subject line ‘Food waste caddy colouring competition 2026’.
What happens next
Winning designs may be featured in council communications, including our website, social media and newsletters. Winners will also be invited to meet the Mayor and Cllr Ashwell and have their photograph taken with their design.
Unfortunately, we’re not able to accept late entries, so please make sure to submit on time.