Questions and answers about food waste recycling in your house

You can find details about food waste recycling, including what goes in your caddy and how to report a damaged bin.

Questions about food waste recycling

What equipment do I need to start recycling my food waste?

If you don't live in a communal property, such as a flat, you’ll need to purchase an orange-lidded food caddy.

You can also have a separate, smaller kitchen caddy for storing food waste, which you can empty into to the orange-lidded caddy outside.

We recommend lining your caddy with compostable liners to help keep them clean. You can also use old newspaper, paper bags or kitchen roll.

I don’t have much space in my kitchen for a communal caddy, what should I do?

Most people find keeping their caddy under the sink, next to the kitchen bin or on the worktop is practical.

Is recycling food waste smelly?

Not if you empty your kitchen caddy regularly into the orange-lidded caddy and make sure to tie up the liners.

With weekly collections, this service gets rid of your food waste twice as often compared to putting your food in the general waste bin. Separating your food waste also means no more odours in your black bin.

Your orange-lidded caddy also has a sealable and lockable lid which will prevent odours and vermin.

How much time and effort does recycling my food waste take?

No, it takes seconds to recycle your food. Just line your kitchen caddy, scrape your scraps into it and, when full, and put the tied up bag into your orange-lidded caddy outside. We’ll do the rest.

What food can I recycle?

You can recycle all your food waste, including scrapings, peelings, raw and cooked out of date food.

You can find out more about what goes in your food waste bin.

I don’t produce much food waste – will it really make a difference if I recycle it?

Yes - just a single recycled banana peel can generate enough electricity to fully charge your smartphone twice. So, even the smallest of scraps can make a real difference.

Does it cost more money to recycle my food?

No – in fact it’s cheaper to recycle food waste. Because food waste is mainly made up of water, processing it as part of your general waste through uses lots more energy.

This makes recycling a more energy and cost efficient way of disposing of your food.

Will my black general waste bin still be emptied if I put food waste in it?

Yes. We will still collect your black general waste bin if it has food in it, but we’re asking everyone to do their bit by recycling their food waste.

What if my food waste caddy goes missing or is damaged during collection?

We may replace your orange-lidded caddy if it was damaged or went missing during collection. You can request a new food waste bin if it has been damaged.