Food waste collection

As of Monday 5 October 2026, most Solihull households will receive weekly food waste collections.

If you live in a flat with shared bins, food waste collections will not begin until 2027. Please refer to flats recycling for more information.

Why we’ve introduced food waste recycling

We've introduced food waste recycling to Solihull because:

• all councils in England will be rolling out food waste collections as part of the government's Simpler Recycling scheme
• food scraps will be turned into renewable energy and fertiliser rather than combusted (burned)
• burning food waste, which is approximately 70% water, is inefficient, so recycling it is better for the environment

The local impact

Recycling food waste can benefit the local community in many ways including:

• generating more clean energy as a result of incinerating (burning) less waste
• creating nutrient-rich fertiliser which helps local farms to grow food more sustainably 

How it works

1. Line your caddy (optional). You can use any bag to line your caddy as long as it is not a black bag. For example, you could use a bread bag or a bag that has been used to package salad or other vegetables. You do not need to buy special food waste liners. If you prefer, you can use your caddy without a liner. 
2. Fill your caddy with food scraps and once it's full, transfer it to your outdoor caddy in a tied bag.
3. Make sure you use the handle to lock your outdoor caddy to prevent spillages if it gets knocked over.
4. Put your outdoor caddy out weekly by 6:00am on your normal collection day.

For more information, you can view and download our information leaflet and watch our video below.

What goes in (and what stays out)

With the exception of liquids, you can put most food waste in your food waste caddy. 

Please refer to what goes into my containers for more information.