New food waste collections to start in Coventry

People in Coventry are being told to use new bins for their food waste, instead of putting it in with their regular household refuse.

The new bins, delivered to homes across the city over the last two months, are part of a wider government strategy, brought in by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in 2025.

Coventry City Council is the penultimate local authority in Coventry and Warwickshire to introduce the change, with Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council still to bring their system in.

Collections in Coventry start on 7 September, as long as the food waste is put out alongside the regular rubbish collection on the scheduled bin day.

Launching the new system in June, cabinet member for city services, Patricia Hetherton, said: "Residents can help turn waste into something useful, from renewable energy, to fertiliser for local farms."

However, there are rules about what goes into the caddies and what does not.

For example, eggshells, pet food and teabags can. but cooking oil and other liquids cannot.

There are also two types of bin that will be used in the city.

Households will get a 23-litre bin, while those living in flats or high-rise apartments will get a smaller caddy that can sit on a counter-top and then be emptied into a larger communal food waste bin.

The city council said the smaller bins for use in flats come with a supply of liners to stop the caddy smelling, but when they run out, replacements can be bought from high street retailers, but they have to be compostable.

It also suggests using newspaper to line a caddy, is you choose not to use the bin liners.

Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.