Food waste collections
Households (other than those with a communal bin store) have two caddies:
- a five-litre caddy for indoors
- a larger 23 litre caddy for outdoors
You can put food waste loose in caddies, or you can use a plastic or biodegradable bag to line the caddy.
Here's what to do:
- Transfer food waste from your plates or preparation area to your indoor caddy
- When your indoor caddy is full, empty the contents into your outdoor caddy
- Place your outdoor caddy at the closest point to the public highway by 6.30am on your collection day
Food waste will be collected weekly. You should leave your outdoor caddy outside your property by 6.30am on your collection day at the closest point to the public highway.
You can find your collection day by using our search tool.
You need to make sure the lid of your caddy is shut and in the locked position before putting it out for collection. Your outdoor caddy locks shut when you pull the handle to the upright position.
Use the Waste Wizard tool to find out what can and cannot be placed in your caddy.
Recycled food waste is taken to a plant in Wiltshire, where it is turned into fertiliser for crops or converted into natural forms of energy. That compares with putting it in your general waste where it ends up being burnt to generate electricity.
Food waste is composed of about 70 per cent waste, requiring considerably more energy to burn it, making this a less efficient method of disposal that recycling.
Watch the video to see what happens:
As an alternative to having food waste collected, you could consider producing your own compost from food waste. You can purchase compost bins at most large supermarkets or DIY and hardware stores.
Find out more about composting at Recycle Now.
You can order a replacement indoor or outdoor food caddy if yours is lost, stolen or damaged.
You can also request an additional outdoor food caddy if the amount of food waste your household produces exceeds the capacity of the caddy every week.