Food waste collections start today

Food waste is being collected in Brighton & Hove for the first time, starting this week in Saltdean, Rottingdean, Ovingdean, Woodingdean and Brighton Marina.

Councillor Tim Rowkins, Cabinet member for Net Zero and Environmental Services, said: “The launch of a free weekly food waste collection service is the biggest change to our recycling collections in decades. It’s a completely new service and a first for the city.

“Starting today in the east of the city, all cooked and uncooked food waste will now belong in your caddy, not your bin. From there it will be turned into compost to be fed back into the soil to grow more food, completing the cycle from field to fork and back to field.

“This is good for the environment and will save council taxpayers’ money on waste disposal – currently more than a third of the waste found in household bins is food – that’s more than 21,000 tonnes going to waste every year.”

How to recycle food waste

The council has delivered starter packs to households in the first phase of the food waste rollout. These included a kitchen caddy, compostable caddy liners, an instruction leaflet and information about collection start date and day, and either an outdoor caddy with orange lid or, for some blocks of flats, access to a shared food waste bin.

From today, anyone who has missed receiving their caddy will be able to request one through our website.

Find out more about food waste collections online and check your collection day

Your food waste collection day may be different from your normal refuse and recycling collection day as this is a new service. Your refuse and recycling collection days will not change.

Food waste that can be recycled includes bread, pasta and rice, fruit and vegetables, fish, meat and bones, dairy, tea bags and coffee grounds. It should be put in caddies without packaging.

Residents are asked not to put in liquids such as milk, soup, oil or gravy.  Compostable caddy liners or newspaper can be used to line the kitchen caddies.

Outdoor caddies should be put out for collection either the night before or before 5am on collection day.

Rolling out new opportunities to recycle

The council is investing £1.2 million in the new weekly food waste service so all households, whether in a kerbside or communal area, will be able to recycle their food waste by March 2026.

The new service is being rolled out in a further 3 stages. Each phase will inform the next, so the dates may be subject to change. The current timeline is:

• October 2025 – 29,500 households in the north of city: Coldean, Moulsecoomb, Bevendean, Patcham, Hollingdean, Hollingbury, Withdean and Preston Park
• November 2025 – 31,500 households in the west of city: Westdene, Hangleton, West Hove, Aldrington, Portslade and Mile Oak
• By March 2026 – 76,000 households in central and communal areas: Queen’s Park, Hanover, Kemptown, Whitehawk, Central Brighton, Seven Dials, Roundhill and Central Hove.

Councillor Rowkins added: “Food waste collections are part of our commitment to expand the materials we collect for recycling. In June we introduced plastic pots, tubs and trays into our dry, mixed recycling collections and we’re planning to introduce more materials in the coming months.”

More information about pots, tubs and trays recycling

Brighton & Hove’s new food waste collections service has been supported by a grant from the UK Government.