Information about your weekly food waste collections
From late spring / early summer 2026, North Tyneside households will begin to benefit from a free weekly food waste collection.
Introduced as part of the Government’s Simpler Recycling Initiative, this service runs alongside your regular household waste and recycling collections. It will help free up space in your bin and increase recycling.
Collections will be introduced through a phased rollout rather than all at once. This will ensure the necessary vehicles, crews, containers, and processing capacity are in place, and that the service can be delivered safely and efficiently. The first phases will begin in late spring / early summer 2026, with residents notified in advance when their service is due to start.
The phased rollout will begin in the week commencing August 17 2026. Exact start dates and locations for each phase will be confirmed and communicated to residents in advance
The new service is being introduced as part of the Government’s Simpler Recycling Reforms. These are designed to increase recycling and we are required by law to introduce this service.
No. This will be a free weekly food waste collection service.
You don’t need to. Households will automatically receive the service. We’ll be writing an introductory letter nearer the time.
Each household will receive:
Residents living in communal properties will receive:
We will begin delivering caddies and containers to all households in late spring / early summer 2026.
You can put all types of food in your caddy, including inedible parts such as bones, shells, peelings and tea bags.
Yes, please:
Please remove all packaging before placing food in your caddy. Packaging should go in your refuse or recycling bin. Please check: what goes in my bins for more details.
No thanks:
We’ll communicate more about this before the service starts.
Yes. We encourage residents to continue composting at home, and to use the food waste caddy for items that are difficult to compost such as meat, fish, bones and dairy products.
For more information on composting at home, including our subsidised composting offer.
Food waste will be collected weekly, which should help to prevent smells. To keep your kitchen caddy fresh, we recommend emptying it regularly into the outdoor caddy and rinsing it out.
Yes.
You will receive a supply of liners with your caddies to get you started. To be used with your indoor caddy, they are a great way to keep your caddy clean and reduce smells.
No. The 23-litre caddy has a sealable, lockable lid to prevent pests and vermin.
Your normal collection day will stay the same. Food waste will be collected weekly on the same day as your recycling and refuse.
If you choose to opt out, your existing refuse and recycling collections will continue as normal. You won’t receive a caddy or food waste collection service.
Food waste collection is a new service that requires specialist vehicles, crews, containers, and processing capacity. While it is part of a national initiative, funding and infrastructure mean it will be introduced in phases. A phased rollout allows us to deliver the service efficiently and responsibly.
The four wards included in Phase 1 have been selected based on a combination of factors that meet essential operational requirements. Food waste must be collected on the same day as residents’ existing waste and recycling collections, and the rounds have been designed as part of a wider operating model that will support a full borough-wide rollout in Phase 2.
Four collection rounds have been chosen to provide a balanced geographical spread across the borough, while avoiding areas with higher recycling contamination rates where possible. A mix of residential property types has also been included to help establish effective collection arrangements ahead of Phase 2.
The service will be rolled out in phases from late spring / early summer. Further phases will follow and updates will be provided as plans develop.
The phased rollout will begin in the week commencing August 17 2026. Exact start dates and locations for each phase will be confirmed and communicated to residents in advance
No. There are no changes to your existing waste and recycling services. Residents included in each rollout phase will receive clear instructions and information before collections begin.
Yes. Councils across England are working through how best to deliver Simpler Recycling reforms locally, and many are introducing services in phases based on funding, infrastructure, and local evidence.
The food waste will go to an AD (anerobic digestion) facility where it will be converted into energy and compost.