Skip to content
Feedback button

Food waste

With Storm Goretti approaching, an amber weather warning is in place for dangerous winds across Cornwall.


Our household waste collections are for domestic properties only.
Businesses and non-domestic properties are not eligible, including:

  • Self-catering and holiday let accommodation. (Includes homes rented out part of the year as holiday accommodation)
  • Hotels
  • Shops

By law, businesses must arrange for a licensed waste contractor to collect their waste. Find out more about commercial waste collections 

When we'll collect your waste

  • Food waste every week
  • Recycling every two weeks
  • Rubbish every two weeks, on the opposite week to recycling 
  • Garden waste every two weeks, if you subscribe to the service  

Find your collection day, view and download your calendar 

How to put your food waste out for collection

  • Put your food waste out by 7am on your collection day
  • Put it out at your usual collection point – for most homes that’s the property boundary
  • Use the green outdoor caddy we’ve provided with the lid closed and the handle pulled forwards to latch it shut 
  • Please take your containers back to your property once they have been collected, so they don’t get lost, damaged, or cause an obstruction
  • If you’ve moved to a new build home, you’ll need to order food waste, recycling and rubbish containers for your property

If you live in a flat and share bins with your neighbours, this may be different for you. Check with your site manager for information about your food waste containers. 

What goes in your food waste caddy

Yes please:A green outdoor collection caddy and a silver kitchen caddy for recycling food waste

  • uneaten food and plate scrapings
  • dairy products, eggs, eggshells
  • bread, cakes, pastries
  • raw and cooked meat, bones
  • tea/coffee bags and coffee grounds
  • raw and cooked fruit and vegetables
  • raw and cooked fish, bones
  • rice, pasta, beans
  • soft-shelled shellfish and crustaceans like crabs and prawns 
  • uneaten pet food 

No thank you:

  • food packaging including ‘biodegradable’ packaging
  • compostable takeaway cups, plates and bowls 
  • large amounts of liquid including milk, oils and fats
  • garden waste and flowers
  • hard-shelled shellfish like mussel shells, limpets and clams 
  • any other items that aren't food waste

What happens to your food waste 

Food waste from homes in Cornwall is taken to an anaerobic digestion facility in Holsworthy. There, it’s turned into renewable energy as well as a biofertiliser which can be used to improve soil quality.

Find out more about what happens to your food waste

Assisted collections 

We offer an assisted collection service to people that are unable to move their waste to their property boundary for collection. Assisted collections allow you to pick an outside location closer to your property for us to collect your recycling and other waste from. 

Find out more about assisted collections

What to do if you have extra food waste

Your food does its job best when it's on a plate ready to be enjoyed. Saving food saves money and helps to slow down global warming and deforestation. Reducing the amount of food that ends up in the bin also means you can say goodbye to unnecessary packaging waste. If we all make a few small changes and start using up the food we buy, together we can make a big difference. 

Find out more about reducing your food waste 

If you regularly have more food waste than you can fit in your caddy, you can order an extra or replacement using the link below. 

Order food caddies, recycling bags and boxes

Missed collections 

If you think we've missed your collection, visit our missed collections page to report it.

Report a missed collection 

Need help?

Most issues can be resolved online, it's the quickest and most convenient way to get help.

Use our contact us form