Food waste collection

The food waste collection allows households to dispose of leftover or unusable food items.

The items need to be placed into the grey food waste bin for collection.

Food waste is collected weekly via dedicated crews and vehicles - check your collection day and schedule

The smaller kitchen caddy allows food waste to be stored inside the home.

The food waste can then be transferred from the kitchen caddy and into the grey food waste bin outside for collection. 

You can line the smaller kitchen caddy with:

• compostable caddy liners
• non-compostable caddy liners
• any type of plastic bag or sack (apart from black bin bags)
• carrier bags
• food bags (e.g. an old bread bag)
• wrapped in newspaper or kitchen roll

Whilst you don’t have to line the kitchen caddy, doing so will keep it cleaner, and make it easier to transfer into the food waste bin for collection. You may also wish to line the food waste bin as well.

Please leave the food waste bin with the handle up, in the locked position, for collection.

Please note that we do not supply replacement caddy liners.

Find out more on how to use the food waste collection service

Only put the following items in the grey food waste bin:

• bread, cakes, and pastries
• cheese, yoghurt, and dairy products
• coffee grounds
• eggshells
• fruit, including peels, cores, and stones
• leftovers and plate scrapings 
• meat and fish (cooked or uncooked), including bones 
• out of date and mouldy food
• pasta and rice
• pet food (wet and dry)
• processed foods
• shellfish
• solid fats
• tea bags
• vegetables and salad, including peelings

If an item is not listed above, please keep it out of the food waste bin.

If a bin contains a non-accepted item, it will not be emptied.

Never put the following items in the grey food waste bin:

• animal or human waste
• cut flowers or house plants
• drinks and liquids
• foil
• garden waste, including grass and prunings
• liquid fats
• milk
• packaging of any kind, including compostable packaging
• pet bedding
• oils
• soil or compost

You may wish to keep the extra waste safe, and put it into the bin once empty.

Food waste can also be taken to a Suffolk Recycling Centre

Visit the Food Savvy website for hints and tips on how you can reduce food waste, and make use of leftovers, including recipe ideas.

If your food waste bin is often full before collection day, you can request an additional grey bin

Please note that any food waste left by the bin in bags, sacks, or liners will not be collected.

Food waste is taken to Anaerobic Digestion (AD) facilities in either Halstead in Essex, or March in Cambridgeshire.

At the facility, the liners/bags are split so they are separated from the food waste.

The food waste goes through a process where it is broken down to produce:

• Biogas which is used as a renewable energy source to generate heat, electricity, and fuel by capturing and burning methane produced from organic waste
• Biofertiliser which is a nutrient rich fertiliser that is spread on fields

All liners/bags are taken to an energy from waste facility, where waste is burned at high temperatures and used to generate electricity. This includes compostable liners/bags, as they don’t break down properly in the conditions used for anaerobic digestion.