Rutland County Council is introducing new weekly food waste collections for households, starting from Monday 30 March 2026. For more information: www.rutland.gov.uk/recycling

Why food waste collections are being introduced

• Food waste collections are a new legal requirement. The Government has said all councils must have separate food waste collections by 2026. These will help to improve recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste sent for incineration.

Key dates to remember

• Rutland County Council will begin separate weekly food waste collections for households from Monday 30 March 2026
• The Council will start swapping large black wheelie bins for smaller 140litre bins from Monday 2 March 2026 onwards
• New food waste caddies will start to be delivered to households from Monday 9 March 2026 onwards

Impact on other waste services

• There is no change to when and how Rutland’s dry mixed recycling is collected. Grey bins will stay the same size and be collected on the same day. We are not introducing any new or different containers for dry mixed recycling.
• Black bin collection days will also remain the same. However, current 240litre black bins will be replaced with smaller 140litre black bins
• A small kitchen caddy for indoor use and a larger outdoor caddy for kerbside collection will be provided for weekly food waste disposal. Food waste collections will take place on normal black and grey bin collection days

Moving to a smaller black bin

• Collecting food waste on its own every week means households don’t need to throw food away in their black household waste bin anymore. Black bins can therefore be made smaller
• A smaller black bin collected every two weeks was preferred over a three-weekly black bin collection by residents who took part in our public consultation
• Although black bins will be smaller, large families and families with medical waste can still request extra household waste capacity, if they need it
• We are also introducing a new category of extra household waste capacity for families who have children in nappies, if they need it
• We are reminding residents to check what items and materials can be recycled in their grey wheelie bins. Please see the grey bin guide on our website for full details of what can be recycled in Rutland: www.rutland.gov.uk/recycling

Why residents should use the new food waste service

• This is an improvement to Rutland’s current waste and recycling services. Food waste will now be collected every single week, instead of being left in black bins for two weeks at a time
• By stopping food waste being sent for incineration as household waste, we are reducing harmful emissions and helping the environment
• The food waste that is collected will be processed at a nearby anaerobic digestion centre. This means food waste will help to produce green energy that is put straight back to the grid
• Recycling is cheaper to dispose of than general waste, meaning separate food waste collections will also help to save money
• Separate food waste collections are being made mandatory across the whole country and are already best practice in many areas

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