New weekly food waste collection service

Message from Cheshire East Council:

In autumn, Cheshire East Council will introduce a new weekly food waste collection service, representing a major step forward for the borough in recycling and waste reduction.

A key milestone of the rollout of this new service is the distribution of outdoor food waste caddies to residents – which we are now nearing.

Cheshire East Council's website has also been updated with detailed information about food waste collections: cheshireeast.gov.uk/foodwastechanges and the wider service changes: cheshireeast.gov.uk/changes-to-bin-collections

As a reminder, the changes from autumn include:

• Introduction of weekly food waste collections.

• Black bin (general waste) collections will move from fortnightly to three-weekly.

• Residents may have a new bin collection day as the routes and rotas for collections are being updated to incorporate the new food waste service.

Key dates

From Monday 6 July 2026: Delivery of food waste caddies to residents begins. Deliveries will take place in phases and will be distributed by an external company on behalf of the council.

By mid- September 2026: All caddies expected to be delivered.

Mid-September 2026: Residents can check their collection start date and any changes to collection days online.

Service launch: Autumn (exact dates to be confirmed online in September).

What residents will receive

Most households will receive an outdoor food waste caddy. Each caddy will include:

• A leaflet with information about how to use the service – this has space at the top for residents to write their food waste service start date and collection day (if different) so they can keep it for future reference.

• A sticker for the caddy lid – this tells residents what can be put in it and has space for residents to add their house number.

What residents should do once they receive their caddy

When a resident’s outdoor food waste caddy arrives, they should:
✔ Not put it out for collection straight away – caddies are being delivered in phases and therefore it may be several weeks before their collections start.
✔ Store the caddy outside with their household bins
✔ Read the leaflet that’s inside their food waste caddy
✔ Add the sticker to the lid of their caddy and write their house number on.

✔ Check when their start date will be and whether their collection day has changed. They information will be available to check on the council’s website by mid-September at: cheshireeast.gov.uk/mycollectionday

Residents living in flats or shared accommodation

Residents living in flats or shared accommodation will also receive the new food waste collection service.

We are assessing bin capacity and collection arrangements for each building. Depending on the property type this may involve either of the following:

• A new outdoor food waste caddy for each individual flat. All food waste caddies are expected to be delivered by mid-September and will be distributed by an external company on behalf of the council.

• Or, a new communal 140 litre food waste wheelie bin that will be shared between residents. These are currently expected to be delivered in September and will be delivered by in-house teams at the council.

• Generally, properties with three or more flats will receive a new communal food waste bin.

• The food waste wheelie bin will be stored in the building’s usual bin storage area.