Food waste collections start in autumn

Bradford Council has said Ilkley residents will receive a food waste collection service from autumn 2026.

Like most councils in the UK, Bradford Council must start food waste collections this year under the Government’s Simpler Recycling legislation and the Government is helping to fund this.

Residents across the district will receive outdoor food waste bins and kitchen caddies with a roll of liners, along with information leaflets from the end of August. The caddy will need to be kept in the kitchen, on a work top, next to the bin or under the sink.

Both the outdoor bin and caddy have lockable lids to keep out insects and pests, as well as reducing odours.

The following items can be put in food waste bins:

• Leftovers / scrapings from plates

• Raw and cooked vegetables, including mouldy/off produce and peelings

• Coffee grounds, tea bags and tea leaves

• Bones

• Raw or cooked meat and fish

• Grains and pulses, such as pasta, rice, lentils and beans

• Bread, pastries and cakes

• Ready meals that have passed their use-by date (without the packaging)

• Dairy goods such as cheese

• Eggs and eggshells

• Unwanted pet food

• Leftovers that can’t be composted at home.

  
  

Food waste will be collected weekly on the same day as people’s alternate general and recycling waste collections, e.g. if your bin day is Wednesday, your food waste day will also be Wednesday.

The food waste will then go through a process called Anaerobic Digestion in which it is broken down by micro-organisms in a way that mimics human digestion. This enables it to be turned into Biogas, a form of renewable energy or Digestate, a nutrient-rich fertiliser used on farmland.

Cllr Ian Walker, Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods and Communities, said: “Every household will be given the opportunity to separate food waste, and we hope that people will get into this new routine. Using food waste bins will reduce the amount of waste going into general waste and means it can be repurposed for energy or fertiliser.”

Packaging, liquids, garden waste and oil can’t be put in the food waste bin. People need to continue to follow existing recycling guidelines and putting packaging in the correct bins.

Anyone who uses a compost bin can still compost the same items: fruit and vegetable peelings; teabags and coffee grounds; garden waste and crushed eggshells.