Food waste for residents

Change is coming

The 'Simpler Recycling' change is coming out of the government's Resources and Waste Strategy, first published back in 2018.

For further information about the government's plans and simpler recycling please visit: 

• Simpler Food Waste
• Gov.uk: Resources and waste strategy for England
• WRAP: The Business of Recycling

More information is also available at Gov.uk: Consistency in household and business recycling in England consultation - government response.

The new legislation

We are carrying out the relevant planning ahead of the legislation coming into force. For households, we are working towards the government's deadline of introducing food collections by 31 March 2026. We will communicate directly to residents with further detail of the new service in due course. The new legislation is part of the government's new 'Simpler Recycling Plan' which aims to improve recycling rates, reduce landfill and lower greenhouse gas emissions. We will offer a free separate weekly collection of food waste.

Food waste bin

We are still at the planning stage behind the scenes but every household is likely to receive a new food waste caddy for use in the kitchen and a larger container to put out for collection on a weekly basis. The food waste collected will be taken to digestion plants to create biogas. This will significantly reduce carbon emissions. The food caddies supplied to households will be uniform and will be a standard colour. Food waste will be collected weekly.

Types of food you can put in your caddy

All food intended for human or household pet consumption, regardless of whether it has any nutritional value, can go into your caddy. This includes biodegradable material resulting from the processing or preparation of food, including inedible food parts such as bones, eggshells, fruit and vegetable skins, tea bags and coffee grounds.

Composting

Householders can continue to recycle at home and use the food waste collection for non-compostable food scraps. Food waste should not be placed in general recycling bins. You can find out what goes in each bin on our What goes in which bin? page.

Making changes

Each year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally. That is over one third of all food produced globally. The new changes will feed into our Climate Emergency Response. Food waste is estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to contribute to eight to ten per cent of man made greenhouse gas emissions. If food waste was a country, it would be the world's third largest after the USA and China.