Your food waste collection
From Monday 16 March 2026, your food waste will be collected every week.
You will have a grey indoor kitchen caddy and a brown outdoor caddy, into which you can empty the contents of the caddy for collection.
Your food waste will be collected on the same day as your household waste (grey lid) bin. You must leave your brown caddy outside by 6am on the day it is collected.
Food waste is collected by a different vehicle and may not be collected at the same time as your general waste.
Read more about where and when to leave your caddies for collection.
Assisted collections
If you already have an assisted collection for your rubbish bin, this will also apply to your food waste collection.
An assisted collection is a collection service for someone who cannot put out their bin to the edge of their property. Residents already receiving assisted collections will automatically receive assistance with their food waste caddy.
If you think you would benefit from this, you can apply for assisted collection.
What you can put in your brown outdoor caddy
You can put any raw or cooked food in your brown caddy. This includes:
- meat, fish, and bones
- fruit and vegetables
- dairy products, including cheese and yoghurt
- bread, rice, pasta and leftovers
- tea bags and coffee grounds
- eggshells
- loose pet food (dried or wet) without the packaging
Do not use your caddy for:
- any item that is not food waste
- packaging of any kind, such as food wrappers
- paper plates
- black bags
- liquids, such as milk
- oil or fat
- flowers or garden waste
Caddy liners
When your caddies are delivered, you will receive a roll of caddy liners.
You can also:
- buy more liners from supermarkets
- use a plastic bag
- choose not to use a liner at all
Any liner used (plastic or compostable) is removed during processing and is not recycled.
We will still collect your food waste if it has been placed directly into the caddy.
Keeping your caddies clean and reducing odours
To help reduce smells and pests:
- keep caddy lids closed securely
- empty the indoor kitchen caddy regularly
- clean caddies regularly
- place kitchen roll at the bottom of the grey indoor kitchen caddy to absorb moisture
- if possible, keep the brown outdoor caddy in a shaded area
Damaged or missing caddies
If your caddy is damaged or goes missing, you can request a replacement. You will need to sign in or sign up for a BRUM Account.
Extra caddies
You can request an extra for free once collections begin if you share caddies and need an extra kitchen caddy.
What happens to your food waste
Food waste is taken to an anaerobic digestion facility near Birmingham. The food waste moves through a de-packaging machine where plastics, liners and contamination are removed. The food is then broken down and mixed with liquid waste to create a food waste soup.
The food-waste soup is pumped into digestion tanks, which are heated to around 37 degrees Celsius and stirred. The food waste stays in the tanks for around 90 days, releasing biogas (a renewable fuel) that is captured as part of the process.
The captured biogas is then cleaned and either used in a combined heat and power (CHP) engine or processed through a gas upgrader. In the CHP engine, biogas is treated to generate electricity, which is used to power the site and feed electricity into the National Grid.
The gas upgrader, or gas-to-grid system, turns the biogas into biomethane, which is fed into the National Gas Grid. The remaining food waste soup (where gas extraction has been exhausted) is pasteurised to become a nutrient-rich fertiliser that can then be used on farmland, reducing reliance on chemical fertilisers.
Page last updated: 5 March 2026
