Food waste collection
Check your collection day here.
Did you know that recycling food waste across Reading helps power thousands of homes? Here are just some of the other reasons you should recycle your food waste…
It’s good for you:
- No more smelly bins! Food waste in your general bin sits for two weeks. Caddies are emptied weekly
- More space in your general bin for non-recyclables
- Don’t throw money away: Putting food waste in your grey bin costs Reading over £1m each year. By recycling food waste instead, we can save money and invest it back into vital services like schools and care
It’s good for the planet:
- Food waste in landfill releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, so the decomposition process contributes to global warming and the climate crisis
- Recycling just one caddy of food waste can power a lightbulb for over 24 hours
- Less landfill = cleaner air and a healthier environment
How to order a food waste bin
Additional or replacement food waste bins are provided by the council to encourage households to participate in or increase their recycling. Order an additional or replacement food waste bin here.
Before ordering a food waste bin or kitchen caddy, check that your property receives weekly food collections. You can only order a food waste bin or caddy if there is a food waste collection for your property.
What you can put in your food waste caddy
Yes please:
- all types of food waste including plate scrapings
- raw and cooked meat and bones
- fruit and vegetable peelings
- mouldy or out of date food
- tea bags and coffee grounds
- dairy produce
- egg shells
- pet food
- cooking oil if it is in a sealed plastic bottle
No thanks:
- any other non-food items
- any type of packaging
- liquids such as milk
FAQs
How does the food waste service work?
Will my food waste bin smell, or attract insects and vermin?
What happens to the food waste?
Why should I use liners in my food caddy?
How does the food waste service work?
You will have two food waste containers, a small silver indoor kitchen caddy (5 litre) to put in your kitchen and a larger black food waste bin (23 litre) for you to put outside for collection.
The food waste is collected weekly on the same day as your household waste and recycling bins. Place your outside food waste bin at the edge of your property with your household waste or recycling bin by 6am. Your food waste will be collected by a different vehicle and at a different time of the day.
Flats with communal bins will have a small (5 litre) food waste kitchen caddy which you should empty into a larger outdoor communal food waste bin which is black with a blue lid. The communal food waste bin will be emptied weekly.
Will my food waste bin smell, or attract insects and vermin?
There is no need for your kitchen caddy or food waste bin to become smelly or to attract insects or vermin. Your outdoor food waste bin has a sealable and lockable lid which will reduce smell as well as prevent pests. There are some simple steps you can take – such as regularly emptying your caddy, rinsing it out, keeping the lid closed, wrapping up smelly food like meat or fish, and keeping it out of direct sunlight.
What happens to the food waste?
We will collect the food waste from your food waste bin on a weekly basis. The waste will be taken to the re3 recycling centre and then on to the Severn Trent recycling plant where it is turned into fertiliser for farming and energy. So the new service will turn food waste from a problem into a resource.
You can watch a video on what happens to your food waste here: https://youtu.be/tOjVgpDu49g
Why should I use liners in my food caddy?
It’s best to use bags or liners as it makes your food waste recycling easier and cleaner. Liners also makes it easier for the collection crew to empty your food bin. When the food waste is taken to the recycling plant, all liners (including compostable ones) are removed at the beginning of the recycling process and are used to generate electricity.
What liners should I use?
You can line your caddy with anything from old shopping bags to bread, cereal, crisp or salad bags, a sheet of newspaper or you can buy bags on a roll such as pedal bin liners or compostable liners to line your caddy. Please don’t use black bins bags or other food trays and packaging to line your caddy.
You can also collect liners from a local library or leisure centre. We ask that you take one roll per household only. Please check for opening times.
What happens to the liners?
When the food waste is taken to the recycling plant, the bags and liners (including compostable ones) are removed at the beginning of the recycling process and are used to generate electricity.
Can I compost my own food?
Yes! You should only compost garden waste and uncooked waste vegetables and fruit (e.g. peelings and skins) as well as coffee grounds and tea bags. All non-compostable food waste, such as meat, fish, small bones, cooked food and dairy products can go into your food waste bin.
Contact us if you have any other problems with the food waste service.
Last updated on 27/10/2025
Food waste collection