Food waste
From autumn 2026, properties with individual waste bins will receive weekly food waste recycling collections.
A few weeks before the new service starts, we will begin rolling out everything you need to get prepared for the new service.
All households will receive a:
- 23 litre grey outdoor food waste bin with an orange lid
- 5 litre grey indoor food waste caddy
- starter roll of caddy liners
- leaflet explaining more about the new service and where to find more information
- calendar showing the collection dates for the new services
Even if you compost at home, we encourage all residents to use the new service to help reduce general waste and ease the transition to fortnightly collections. Home composting is not suitable for meat, bones, cooked food, or dairy. Use the food waste bin for these items.
Cooked and uncooked food waste can be recycled using the service, including:
- raw and cooked meat including bones
- fish and shellfish
- dairy products such as cheese and yoghurt
- vegetables and fruit including peelings
- bread, cakes and pastries
- rice, pasta and beans
- plate scrapings
- tea bags and coffee grounds
- eggshells
- solid fats
- pet food
- mouldy and out-of-date food
The following items can't be put in your food waste bin:
- packaging
- oils
- liquids
- animal waste
- bedding
- flowers
- non-food items
Remove all plastic before disposal. Incorrect items mean your bin won't be emptied.
Food waste collections are strongly encouraged but not compulsory. We have to provide all households with the opportunity to recycle food waste so must deliver the food waste bin and indoor caddy. Separating food waste helps reduce waste and benefits the environment through anaerobic digestion, producing energy and biofertiliser. If you don't use the service, you'll still have fortnightly general waste collections. Bags of rubbish that are not inside your black top general waste bin will not be collected and larger bin applications won't be accepted.
Properties with communal waste collection facilities will remain on the current weekly rubbish service without food waste collections. The new food waste service will be rolled out to these properties in 2027.
Weekly food waste collections and lockable bins help prevent vermin and odours. Below are some tips to help prevent smells and pests:
- keep lids closed and locked
- wrap smelly food in newspaper or compostable liners
- rinse recycling before binning
- store bins out of direct sun
- clean bins regularly
Food waste shouldn't smell if transferred from the kitchen caddy to the outside food waste bin regularly and bins are kept closed. Do not use plastic bags and use newspaper for wrapping. Kitchen caddies and bins are easy to clean. General waste should smell less with food waste removed.
In 2023, the government announced that councils must introduce a weekly food waste kerbside collection service for all households as part of its Simpler Recycling scheme. This scheme aims to create a more consistent and easier-to-understand waste and recycling system nationwide.
Data shows that around 44% of general waste in Crawley is food waste, and around 18% is recyclable material. Separating food waste collected from across the whole of West Sussex (including Crawley) allows it to be recycled via anaerobic digestion into biofertiliser and energy.
The food waste is recycled via anaerobic digestion into biofertiliser and energy. The biofertiliser will be used as a fertiliser for farmers' fields, and the energy will power the plant, with any excess exported to the National Grid to be used in homes.
If you regularly produce more food waste than fits in the standard bin, you can request a second bin in myCrawley.
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