What Goes in Your Food Waste Caddy?
The questions people actually ask, answered from council guidance.
Almost any food goes in the caddy: peelings, bones, egg shells, dairy, bread, cooked leftovers, tea bags and out-of-date food out of its packaging. Keep out packaging (even compostable), liquids and pet waste. What you may line it with, and a few edge cases like kitchen roll and cooking oil, genuinely differ by council.
Under Simpler Recycling, councils in England are rolling out weekly food waste collections from March 2026. You get two caddies: a small one for the kitchen and a larger lockable one for outside, collected weekly on your regular collection day, separate from your other bins. Not every home has one yet; see is food waste collected where I live?
Can I put this in my food waste caddy?
Can fruit stones, pips and peach stones go in the food caddy?Yes
Yes, unless your council says otherwise. All seven councils this guide covers accept fruit and vegetable waste, and none of them lists stones, pips or pits as an exception. Put plum, peach, cherry and avocado stones in with the rest of the fruit. If your council's own page names them as an exception, follow that.
Can raw chicken, meat and bones go in?Yes
Yes. Raw and cooked meat and fish are accepted by all seven councils this guide covers, and bones are listed by name by Bristol, Camden, Glasgow, Reading and Southwark. Islington excludes large bones and carcasses, which go in general rubbish.
- Reading lists raw and cooked meat and bones, and raw and cooked fish. Reading guide →
- Islington accepts meat and fish but sends large bones and carcasses to general rubbish. Islington guide →
Can egg shells and peelings go in?Yes
Yes. Yes to both. Peelings are the classic caddy item, and egg shells are listed by name in the guidance we hold for Bristol, Camden, Lewisham and Reading, and Islington lists peelings and describes eggshells as typical unavoidable food waste.
- Bristol: dairy products and egg shells. Bristol guide →
- Camden: eggs and eggshells. Camden guide →
- Lewisham: egg shells go in the food bin. Lewisham guide →
- Islington: peelings and eggshells are OK. Islington guide →
Can cooked food, cakes and out-of-date food go in?Yes
Yes. All cooked food and leftovers go in, including bread, cakes and pastries. Out-of-date food goes in too, once it is out of its packaging; frozen food is no different. The packaging itself never goes in the caddy.
- Glasgow: bread, cakes and pastries; all cooked food goes in. Glasgow guide →
- Reading: out-of-date food goes in. Reading guide →
- Camden: cooked and leftover food, bread and pastries. Camden guide →
Can pet food go in the food waste bin?Yes
Yes, the food itself. Uneaten pet food is food waste and goes in; Reading lists it by name. Pet waste, cat litter and dog poo are a different matter and go in general waste everywhere we hold data for.
- Reading: pet food is accepted; pet waste or litter is general waste only. Reading guide →
- Glasgow: animal waste is not accepted in food waste. Glasgow guide →
Can crab shells, prawn shells and shellfish go in?Yes
Yes, unless your council says otherwise. Fish is accepted by all seven councils this guide covers, and none of them lists shells or shellfish as an exception, so there they go in with the rest of the food waste. Check your council's page if it names an exception.
Can kitchen roll and tissues go in the food caddy?Depends on your council
Depends on your council. This is one of the genuine splits. Lewisham says no. Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire say yes, because their green bin takes food and garden waste together and accepts used paper tissues and kitchen paper. Most other councils don't mention it, which usually means general waste.
- Lewisham: kitchen towel is not accepted in the food bin. Lewisham guide →
- Cambridge: used paper tissues and kitchen paper go in the green bin with food. Cambridge guide →
- South Cambridgeshire: the same green-bin rule as Cambridge. South Cambridgeshire guide →
Can cooking oil, fat and liquids go in?Depends on your council
Depends on your council. Liquids are the most common caddy exclusion, but councils differ on oil. Islington and Lewisham say no. Reading takes cooking oil if it is sealed in a plastic bottle in the outdoor bin, but not large amounts of liquid such as milk. Never pour oil down the drain.
- Islington: oil and liquid fat are not accepted in the caddy; cooking oil can go to the Reuse and Recycling Centre by car (not at the pedestrian drop-off). Islington guide →
- Lewisham: liquids like milk, oil or fat are not accepted. Lewisham guide →
- Reading: cooking oil sealed in a plastic bottle in the outdoor bin; not large amounts of liquids such as milk. Reading guide →
Can cut flowers go in the food waste bin?Depends on your council
Depends on your council. Islington accepts cut flowers and plant cuttings in small amounts. Reading sends cut flowers to the green garden bin instead. If your council has a garden waste service, that is usually where flowers belong.
- Islington: cut flowers and plant cuttings, small amounts only. Islington guide →
- Reading: cut flowers go in the green garden bin. Reading guide →
Can compostable packaging go in the food caddy?No
No. No, even with a seedling or "compostable" logo. Food waste goes to anaerobic digestion, which does not break packaging down the way an industrial composter would. Of the seven councils this guide covers, every one that mentions it sends compostable packaging to general waste.
- Bristol: compostable packaging is not accepted in food waste. Bristol guide →
- Glasgow: compostable packaging goes in general waste. Glasgow guide →
- Reading: packaging or trays, including compostable packaging, are rejected. Reading guide →
What other councils' food waste lists say about compostable items
Do I need to bag food waste?
You don't have to line the caddy at all; a liner just keeps it clean. What you may use differs by council: some accept any carrier bag, some only compostable liners, some paper or newspaper only, and a few reject compostable plastic bags outright despite the label.
What the councils we hold guidance for say:
- Carrier bags are fine as liners, and so is newspaper. Bristol guide →
- Line the caddy with a clear bag or newspaper; bin liners are not accepted. Lewisham guide →
- Compostable caddy liners only; no plastic bags or bin liners. Glasgow guide →
- Compostable liners, never plastic bags; get them from libraries, concierge offices and community centres, or buy them from supermarkets. Islington guide →
- Compostable liners or old newspaper; never black bin bags. Camden guide →
- Lining is optional; if you do, use compostable liners or newspaper, not plastic bags. Southwark guide →
- Wrap food in paper bags or newspaper; compostable plastic bags are not accepted despite the label. Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire guide →
Is food waste collected where I live?
Under Simpler Recycling, councils in England are introducing weekly food waste collections from March 2026. It isn't everywhere yet: some flats and communal properties are still waiting for caddies, and two of the councils we hold guidance for say so in their own words.
- Tower Hamlets says food waste collection is available to all houses and a small number of flats, with the rest to follow in 2026 and 2027. Tower Hamlets guide →
Of the 179 councils whose food waste guidance we have checked:
- 85 say they collect food waste every week.
- 21 say only some homes have it.
- 23 say it is starting or being rolled out.
- 5 describe a trial or pilot only: Birmingham, Leeds, Newark and Sherwood, Newcastle upon Tyne and Nottingham.
- 9 say they do not collect food waste from homes: Barnsley, Kirklees, Leicester, North Yorkshire, Ribble Valley, Rushcliffe, Walsall, Westmorland and Furness and Wyre Forest.
- 31 collect food waste but do not say it is weekly.
- For 5, the pages we checked do not describe a food waste collection: Monmouthshire, Sheffield, South Holland, Sunderland and Wakefield.
For what each council we have checked says about weekly collection, in its own words, see which councils collect food waste weekly.
Enter your postcode to see the bin schedules your neighbours have set up and whether a food bin is among them.
The full list: what goes in
- Fruit and vegetable peelings and scraps
- Meat and fish, raw or cooked (including bones)
- Dairy: cheese, yoghurt, butter
- Bread, pasta, rice, cereals
- Eggs and eggshells
- Tea bags and coffee grounds
- Plate scrapings and leftovers
- Biscuits, cakes, pastries
- Sauces and condiments (small amounts)
- Out-of-date food (remove from packaging first)
- Pet food (the food itself, not the packaging)
What doesn't go in
- Packaging of any kind: plastic, cling film, foil trays, fruit punnets, even if it says "compostable"
- Plastic bags (even as liners, unless your council specifically says otherwise)
- Liquids: drain them before putting food in the caddy
- Garden waste: this goes in your garden waste bin
- Pet waste, cat litter, dog poo
- Nappies
- Cooking oil in large quantities (small amounts on food scraps are fine)
- Tissues and kitchen roll (check your council: some accept these in food waste, most say general waste)
Important
Most councils do NOT accept compostable packaging in food waste caddies, even if it has a compostable/seedling logo. The packaging needs industrial composting conditions that are different from anaerobic digestion. When in doubt, put packaging in general waste rather than risk contaminating food waste.
How to use your caddies
- 1
Line your kitchen caddy
Use a compostable caddy liner (your council may have provided a roll with your caddy). Some councils also accept newspaper as a liner. Don’t use standard plastic bags unless your council specifically says you can.
- 2
Add food waste as you go
Put in peelings, scraps, plate scrapings, and any other food waste as you cook and clear up. The caddy fits under the sink or on the worktop.
- 3
Transfer to the outdoor caddy
When the liner is full, tie it and put it in the larger outdoor caddy. Keep the outdoor caddy locked (handle in the locked position) to keep animals out.
- 4
Put it out on collection day
Put the outdoor caddy at the edge of your property on your regular collection day. Move the handle to the upright position so the crew can open it.
Tips
- Keep the kitchen caddy lid closed when not in use (reduces smells and flies)
- Empty the kitchen caddy every couple of days
- Rinse both caddies regularly with hot soapy water
- Put your house number on the outdoor caddy so it doesn’t go missing
- If you run out of caddy liners, tie one to the handle of your outdoor caddy: some councils will leave a new roll on collection day
- There’s no amount too small: even a single tea bag is worth putting in
Why it matters
Food waste in landfill produces methane, a greenhouse gas over 80 times more potent than CO2 in the short term. When collected separately, your food waste goes to anaerobic digestion plants that turn it into renewable energy and nutrient-rich fertiliser. The UK wastes around 10 million tonnes of food per year. Separating it out makes a genuine difference.
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The best thing you can do with food is eat it. The caddy is for what's genuinely unavoidable: peelings, bones, tea bags. If you're regularly throwing away whole meals or unopened packets, that's money in the bin.
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