Food waste collection

From Summer 2026, households will have a weekly food waste collection. This will be picked up on the same day as your green and grey bins.

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What you will receive

From June, you will get:

• an outdoor food waste caddy with a sticker showing when your collections will start
• a small kitchen caddy
• caddy liners
• information on how to use them

You can use the bin collection calendar to find out when these items will be delivered to you. The delivery date will be shown in the calendar as ‘Food waste caddy delivery.’

Report a problem with the delivery of your caddy or outdoor bin

When collections start

Collections will begin in phases from July 2026 onwards:

• phase 1: from Monday 6 July
• phase 2: from Monday 27 July
• phase 3: from Monday 17 August

You can use the bin calendar to find out when your weekly food waste collections start. It will be shown as 'Grey food waste - Small grey' next to a grey triangle.

Find when your collections start

How to use the service

1. Line your kitchen caddy with a liner or plastic bag.
2. Put your food waste in the caddy. You can use your own container if you prefer.
3. Tie the liner handles and put it in your outdoor caddy. Do not let the kitchen caddy get too heavy before you empty it.
4. Lock the outdoor caddy by lifting the handle upright.
5. Put it out for collection every week with your green and grey bins.
6. Leave the outdoor caddy on the ground next to your other bins.

What you can recycle

You can recycle all food waste, including:

• meat, fish and bones (raw or cooked)
• dairy products, eggs and cheese
• bread, cakes and pastries
• fruit, vegetables and peelings (raw or cooked)
• rice, pasta and beans
• tea bags and coffee grounds
• all uneaten food including plate scrapings, mouldy and out of date food

What you cannot recycle

Do not put these items in your caddy:

• packaging
• liquids such as milk, oil or liquid fat
• non-food waste

How to get new caddy liners

If you need new liners, tie one on the handle of your outdoor caddy when you put it out. We will leave a new roll of liners in the caddy.

You will also be able to order them on this website.

Why do we need to recycle food waste?

Food waste is 70% water. It is more efficient to recycle it than to burn it.

Globally, food waste together with food loss produces 8–10% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Almost five times the total emissions of the aviation sector.

Recycling your food waste will reduce smells in your green non-recyclable waste bin. Your food waste caddy will be collected every week. Your green bin is collected every 2 weeks.

What happens to the food after it is collected?

Your food waste is taken to an anaerobic digestion facility. It is then used to generate a natural form of energy, biogas, and a bio-fertiliser used in farming.

When recycled, food waste is used to:

• make an alternative to fossil fuels called biogas
• produce bio-fertiliser for farming

Why are the caddy liners plastic and not biodegradable?

Caddy liners are provided to help keep your food waste caddy clean. You can use any bag to line your caddy. This includes used bread bags and plastic food wrappers.

Food waste from Wirral is taken to a facility in North Wales. During the process, all bags and liners are removed. 

They are removed because they do not break down during the treatment process. This means compostable and paper liners do not provide any extra environmental benefit. All the bags are sent to an energy-from-waste facility to create green energy.

Compostable and paper liners are more expensive. This is why all authorities across the Liverpool City Region opted for polythene liners.

Making space for a caddy

You can keep the kitchen caddy:

• under the sink
• next to your bin
• on your worktop

You can also use your own container.

If you do not produce much food waste

There is no amount too small. Some waste like banana skins, tea bags and meat and fish bones is unavoidable. They can all be recycled.

If you already compost

You can still use this service for items you cannot compost, such as:

• meat and bones
• dairy
• cooked food
• plate scrapings