Every household is entitled to a:

• kitchen caddy. This is the ideal size to pop in any food waste such as banana skins, food scrapings, vegetable peelings or bones and can be easily stored out of sight under your kitchen sink. 
• larger caddy to transfer food waste into for collection each week. This has a lockable lid to prevent spills or animals getting into.    

We’ve also given you a year’s supply of caddy liners to start. Use these - or any other kind of bag - to line your smaller kitchen caddy. When the caddy is full, or in time for your collection day, tie the bag up, remove it from the kitchen caddy and put it in the larger caddy. Put the larger caddy out for collection on your allocated day in the same place you do for your bins.

Food waste collections happen every week. 

Find my bin collection day

What we collect

Yes please:

• fruit and vegetables, including peelings, carrot tops and fruit stones
• meat and bones
• plate scrapings
• pet food
• mouldy food
• tea bags and coffee grounds
• eggs and dairy products
• any cooked and uncooked waste food
• shellfish shells

No thanks:

• packaging (other than the liner)
• recycling
• garden waste
• rubbish
• nappies
• oil

Used cooking oil

Used cooking oil, such as you might use in a deep-fat fryer, can’t go in the food waste caddy. This is because it is could spill out of the caddy liner, or spill onto the road and members of our collection crew, or get into the machinery of the collection vehicle. It can also solidify at the digester and clog the machinery in the same way it can block drains. Cooking oil should be allowed to cool, poured back into its bottle and either used again or put into the rubbish bin in the bottle. The very best thing to do with used cooking oil, once you’ve used it as much as you can, is to save it for your next trip to the recycling centre. You can safely tip it into the used cooking oil container where it can be recycled into fuel. If you are getting rid of a small amount of oil, and it can’t be used again, wipe the pan with some kitchen towel and put the oily towel in your rubbish bin.

Waste liquids

Liquids can’t go in the food waste caddy because they can leak on the collection vehicle, the road and our collection crew. This could cause people to slip or it might contribute to clogging the machinery of the vehicle or digester. Liquids can generally be poured down the drain, but liquids containing fats, like gravy, should be put in a container and then in the rubbish bin.

The lists above are not exhaustive, so if you are not sure whether an item is suitable, please see our waste and recycling look up:

Waste and recycling look up

Find out more about

Caddy liners

We’re providing a year’s supply of caddy liners to help residents get started with their smaller kitchen food caddies. Caddy liners help:

• keep it clean: food waste stays in the bag, reducing spills and smells
• makes recycling easier: simply tie the bag and place it in larger caddy for collection
• saves time: less need to wash your caddies, as the food is contained

The liners are designed to fit your caddies, but you can use any type of bag if you prefer.

You can reuse plastic bags from bread or vegetables, although they may not fit as snugly.

If you choose not to use liners, you’ll just need to wash your caddies occasionally.

What happens to caddy liners

When food waste reaches the anaerobic digester, all bags, including biodegradable and compostable ones are removed at the start of the process. 

They are then sent for energy production, which is why it doesn’t matter what type of bag you use.

Why its good to recycle food waste

Recycling food waste is beneficial for the environment. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions, produces valuable resources like compost and biogas, and can lower disposal costs. Removing food waste from rubbish bags will also mean less rubbish is going to landfill.

Please visit Love Food Hate Waste for further information on waste reduction.

Why it beats the rubbish bin (even if you’re not thinking about the planet)

Weekly food waste collections keep things simpler, clean and tidy:

• less smell: food waste sitting in your rubbish bin for two weeks means bad odours
• fewer maggots: sealed liners, lockable caddies and more frequent collection means less chance for pests
• cleaner bins: no loose food scraps leaking or sticking means much less washing

Where food waste goes when its collected

The food waste is taken to an anaerobic digester. This facility works just like our own digestive system.  

Anaerobic digestion is a natural process where microorganisms break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen, producing biogas (a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide) and digestate. The biogas can be used for heat and electricity generation, while the digestate can be used as a nutrient-rich fertiliser.  

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What is anaerobic digestion video

Why we can't collect food waste in the green lidded bin any more

From 1 June 2026, your green lidded bin will only be used for garden waste, like grass clippings, leaves and small branches. This will be collected for composting.

Previously this mixed food and garden waste was sent for In Vessel Composting (IVC). This is expensive and no longer the best way of handling food waste. Instead, we now send your food waste to an anaerobic digester. Your garden waste goes for traditional composting.

That’s why it’s important not to put food waste in the garden bin from 1 June 2026.

Extra food waste  

An extra food waste recycling caddy can be provided for families that meet the extra rubbish bin capacity criteria, however, before issuing, we will provide advice on minimising food waste.  

Remember the following:

• your food caddies must be ready for collection by 6:30am on your collection day and not before 6pm on the evening before - please place them at the side of your other bins or bags, rather than on top of them
• all food waste must be contained in your caddy. Do not put food waste in your rubbish bin or green lidded bin
• lock the lid by lifting up the handle to prevent spillages and stop animals getting to your food waste
• your food caddies must be on the property boundary closest to the road and visible to the collection crew
• if your property is accessed by a private track or road, your collection point will be where this meets the public highway

We encourage you to make use of your food caddies and your recycling and garden waste bins as much as possible, to reduce the waste going into your rubbish bins.