Food waste recycling trial

From October 2026, round 3,000 households across parts of Southwell, Lowdham, Lincoln Road and Hawtonville in Newark will take part in a six-month food waste collection trial. Newark and Sherwood District Council is one of only two local authorities in Nottinghamshire trialing the service ahead of the county-wide introduction of food waste collections from October 2027.

The trial will help us understand how food waste collections work in practice and allow us to make improvements before the service is rolled out more widely.

How will I know if I'm taking part?

We are contacting every household who is taking part in the food waste trial. If you do not receive a letter or food waste caddies, your household is not currently part of the trial, and your waste and recycling collections will remain unchanged.

If your household is taking part in the trial, you will receive:

a letter explaining the trial
a 23-litre outdoor food waste caddy
a 7-litre kitchen food waste caddy
information about how to use the service

You should expect to receive your food waste caddies from 12 October 2026.

How does the service work?

Taking part is straightforward:

place your food waste in the 7-litre kitchen caddy provided - you can use bags
when the kitchen caddy is full, transfer the contents into your 23-litre outdoor food waste caddy.
present your outdoor food waste caddy for collection on your scheduled collection day.

Food waste will be collected on the following days:

Monday if you have received caddy liners
Tuesdays if you have not received caddy liners

Collections will start from Monday 26 October 2026.

What can I put in my food waste caddy?

You can recycle:

leftovers and plate scrapings
fruit and vegetables
meat and fish
bones
bread, rice and pasta
dairy products
egg shells
tea bags
coffee grounds
cooked food
uncooked food

Please remove any packaging before placing food waste in your caddy.

Please do not put any of the following in your caddy:

liquids such as milk
oil
any material that is not food

All other household waste items can be placed in your green or black household waste bin and recycling can be placed in your silver recycling bin.

Using liners

As part of this trial, some households will receive a starter roll of compostable food waste liners and some households will not. This is because we are testing different approaches to help us understand what works best ahead of the county-wide rollout of food waste collections in 2027.

If you wish to use liners, compostable liners can be purchased from many supermarkets and retailers.

You can also reuse suitable plastic bags, such as bread bags, frozen food bags, carrier bags and other small plastic bags from everyday items to line your kitchen caddy.

Worried about smells or pests?

It's understandable to have questions about storing food waste separately. However, food waste is already something that households place in their refuse bins every day. This service simply allows that waste to be collected separately and recycled and is collected weekly rather than staying in your bin for a fortnight.

Your outdoor caddy will have a lockable lid and is collected every week, helping to keep food waste secure until collection day.

Frequently asked questions

For frequently asked questions, please visit our FAQS on the food waste trial page.

Why are we introducing food waste collections?

Food waste makes up a significant proportion of household rubbish. By collecting it separately, it can be recycled and turned into valuable resources rather than being disposed of as general waste.

The Government has announced that councils across England will be required to collect food waste separately from October 2027. This trial will help us prepare for these upcoming changes and ensure the service works effectively for residents

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