Household Food Waste Collections
As required by the UK Government, we will soon be introducing a new weekly household food waste collection across the Malvern Hills district.
This will be collected weekly on the same day we collect your other waste and recycling.
You will be provided with a 7 litre kitchen caddy, a 23 litre food waste bin (for outside), a roll of liners to line the caddy, and an information leaflet.
This service will be rolled out gradually across the Malvern Hills district with the first trial round starting in October 2026. If the trial is successful, we expect full coverage across the district by October 2027.
We will contact you directly when the service will come to your area. In the meantime, you will not need to do anything.
This webpage will be updated closer to the launch of the service.
Whilst we are required to provide this service, our preference is that households produce little to no food waste. Please visit our Food Savvy webpage for more information about how you can reduce your food waste and tips on how to compost any food waste you do have.
If you need help or information that you cannot find on our website, then please call us on 01684 862490 between 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday or email
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Q. When will it be my turn?
A. The service will be rolled out gradually starting on 5 October 2026. We will contact you directly when the service will come to your area. In the meantime, you will not need to do anything.
Q. Will I be expected to pay for this service?
A. There is no fee for this service.
Q. What can I put in my food waste bin?
All of these items can be recycled:
- All uneaten food and plate scrapings
- Raw meat, cooked meat and bones
- Fish, cooked fish and bones
- Dairy products, cheese and eggs
- Teabags and coffee grounds
- Rice, pasta and beans
- Bread, cakes and pastries
- Raw and cooked vegetables, whole fruit and peelings
- Mouldy and out of date food
Q. What if I don’t produce any food waste?
A. Remember there is no amount too small. The best thing we can do with our food is enjoy it but some waste like banana skins, tea bags and bones are unavoidable and can all be recycled.
Q. I already compost, why should I use the service?
A. That’s great! Home composting is a brilliant way to recycle nutrients and make soil improver for your garden. For any food waste you can’t compost, like cooked food, you can use the Household Food Waste Collection service.
Q. What happens to food waste once collected?
A. In the Malvern Hills District, around 37% of waste in an average bin is food (according to a waste analysis done by Let’s Waste Less in 2021).
When recycled, food waste can be turned into something useful. Your food waste will be taken to an anaerobic digestion facility where it is used to generate natural forms of energy, such as biogas, an excellent alternative to fossil fuels and a fertiliser which can be used in farming.
Q. What does Anaerobic Digestion mean?
A. This process uses microorganisms to break down food waste in the absence of oxygen, inside an enclosed system. As it breaks down it gives off methane, which is collected and converted into biogas and used to generate electricity, heat or transport fuels. It also creates nutrient-rich digestate that can be used as a fertiliser for agriculture and in land regeneration.
You can find out more about anaerobic digestion on the Severn Trent website
Q. I don’t have time to do this – why should I?
A. It’s easy, we will provide the kitchen caddy (for inside) and food waste bin (for outside bin), so all you need to do is follow the instructions in the leaflet. You don’t need to wash or prepare anything, you can just scrape your plate into the caddy and go.
Like any other habit, it just takes time for your new food waste routine to become second nature. Keeping your food waste caddy under the sink or together with your general waste bin will help you remember to separate your food waste when you’re putting things into the bin.
Using your food waste caddies means less rubbish goes to incineration, which is better for the environment and can save money. The average family throws away £700 of food a year, but once people see what’s being wasted, shopping habits often change and bills go down.
Q. I don’t have space for the caddy, what should I do?
A. A lot of people find that keeping it under the sink, next to the kitchen bin or on the work top is practical. The caddy size is 7 litres which is smaller than the average wastepaper bin. Remember you can use your own container if you prefer something more stylish or it fits better in your kitchen.
Q. Will the food in my bin smell?
A. Not if you empty your kitchen caddy regularly into the outside food waste bin and tie up the liners. Your outdoor bin has a sealable and lockable lid which will stop smells getting out. The food waste bin will be collected frequently, on a weekly basis, which will avoid food being stored for long periods.
Q. Can I opt out of the service?
A. You will automatically receive a caddy and an outside bin. It is recommended that you do take part as there are many benefits. By recycling properly, we can reduce our impact on the environment and turn more of the district’s food waste into green energy and fertiliser for local farms.
Q. I have a sack collection, when will it be my turn for the service?
A. The service will be delivered on a roll-out basis to households with existing bins at first. We will then review the service and will contact people on a sack collection when it is their turn.
Q. How many liners will I get and what do I do when they run out?
A. You’ll receive an initial roll of liners with your indoor caddy to help you get started. These are just for convenience- you don’t need to make them last a whole year. Once they run out, you can buy more from most supermarkets or food stores.
You don’t have to use the supplied liners. Old bread bags, plastic shopping bags, newspaper or kitchen roll all work just as well. We are not providing compostable liners. The anaerobic digestion facility removes all liners at the front end of the process whatever they are made of as packaging does not breakdown at the same rate as the food itself.