We will be rolling out a new weekly food waste collection service in line with government requirements from April 2026.

Why this is happening

Food waste makes up around a third of household rubbish which is currently incinerated.

Did you know the average household throws away around £800 of edible food each year?

The government's simpler recycling initiative (gov.uk) requires that all local councils roll out a separate food waste service in 2026.

By collecting food waste separately, we can:

• turn food waste into energy and bio-fertiliser via anaerobic digestion
• help you to see what food is being wasted in your house
• free up more room in your general waste bin if needed

How this works

As part of the new kerbside collection service you will receive:

• a small kitchen caddy (7L) to collect food waste indoors - keep this in your kitchen and use with the liner (optional to use)
• a larger kerbside caddy (23L) to present for weekly collection - place the full liners or loose food waste from your small caddy in here
• a roll of liners (optional to use)
• detailed instructions on how to recycle your food waste

The caddies are sealed and easy to clean. Liners help keep them tidy but are optional to use.

If you run out of liners, we will share options for getting more liners as part of the service.

The kerbside caddy will be collected weekly and will go out on the same day as your green and blue/brown bin. 

The kerbside caddy will be collected by a separate vehicle to your normal bins so leave it out until it has been emptied.

There is no need to sign up - we’ll deliver everything to you before the service starts.

What you need to do

• look out for your caddies and liners in early 2026
• watch our video guides closer to launch
• recycle and reuse as much of your waste as you can

You will not need to pay extra for food waste collections.

What can go in your food caddy

There will be a service leaflet delivered with your caddies detailing what you can and can’t put in them, for example:

Yes please

• bread products
• eggs and dairy products
• fruit and vegetables - including peelings
• fish, meat and bones
• leftovers and out-of-date food (no containers or packaging)
• tea bags and coffee grounds

No thanks

• garden waste
• food packaging
• liquids, oils or fats
• non food waste

If you live in a flat with a communal bin store

Each flat will have a smaller kitchen caddy for inside the home and then larger communal bins in the bin store rather than a kerbside caddy.

We will provide further communication on the food waste service for flats before the service is due to start.