Food Waste Action: New Rules

Food Waste Caddies – Image Courtesy of F Miles, Tarvin

From 31 March 2026, it will be the law for councils to collect food waste recycling from all households

Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC) has been doing this weekly since 2012 but is working hard with the Council-owned waste collection company, Cheshire West Recycling (CWR), to make sure all homes have a brown food caddy.

Most unused food can be recycled, including bread, cakes, pastries, cheese, butter, eggs and their shells, fruit and vegetables, meat and fish including bones, rice, pasta, beans, tea bags, coffee grounds, uneaten pet food. The Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP) estimates that 4.4 million tonnes of food is wasted every year from UK homes, worth around £17.5 billion. For an average UK family of four, that is around £1,000 wasted every year.

Food waste shouldn't go in the black bin. Soon CWR will be checking black bins before they are emptied to make sure they do not contain food waste or any other items that could have been recycled, otherwise we may not be able to empty them.

Recycling your food waste is easy to do, just line your brown food caddy with a plastic liner, empty bread or freezer bags, paper towel or old newspaper, and drop it in. There is a small caddy for the kitchen and a bigger brown caddy to empty it into that you can put out alongside your bins every week for CWR crews to collect. Recycling has never been simpler.

Most households already have a brown caddy, but if you don t, you can order one for free at:
https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/waste-and-recycling/your-bin-collection/order-new-or-replacement-bin or call us on 0300 123 7026.

More information about food waste in Cheshire West and Chester can be found on the Council website:
https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/waste-and-recycling/recycle-first/different-waste-and-materials/food-waste

Residents can visit the Love Food Hate Waste website for useful bespoke tips and guidance on how to avoid creating food waste
https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/