England’s Simpler Recycling reforms now require households to separate food waste as part of new national collection rules.
However, as the rollout continues, not all councils have fully delivered food waste caddies or weekly collections, leaving homeowners confused as to what they should do with their kitchen scraps.
In response, organisations and numerous local authorities have issued practical advice for households on six ways to manage food scraps safely until full services are in place.
Article continues below1. Compost food scraps at home
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) guidance encourages home composting as one of the most effective ways to manage organic food waste outside formal collection systems.
Fruit and vegetable peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds and eggshells can all be composted. WRAP describes this as part of the UK “waste hierarchy,” turning food scraps into a useful soil improver.
Many councils also actively support composting through local schemes. Bristol City Council and Leeds City Council, along with numerous other local authorities across England, promote home composting in their waste reduction advice and link residents to discounted compost bins through national partnerships such as the Get Composting scheme.
Alternatively, this Large Outdoor Wooden Compost Bin from B&Q is a stylish alternative if you're looking to include one in your garden plans.
2. Freeze food waste until collection
WRAP advises freezing surplus food or unavoidable scraps as a short-term storage method.
This helps reduce odours, slows decomposition and limits pest attraction to bins while households wait for full food waste collection services to be introduced.
Councils, including Leeds City Council and London borough authorities such as Camden Council, reference freezing as a practical interim solution during rollout phases.
Use these for kitchen food waste collection
Tuck this slimline food caddy on your kitchen worktop, or mount inside a cupboard door
For larger families this 5L caddy is ideal and has a non-slip base to keep it safe on your kitchen worktop
3. Regrow food scraps at home
Some councils and organisations are encouraging food regrowing as part of wider food waste reduction schemes.
This is supported in UK food waste prevention messaging, including the national Love Food Hate Waste campaign, run by WRAP, which encourages households to make better use of food before it is thrown away as part of efforts to reduce edible food waste.
At a local level, councils including Bristol City Council and Leeds City Council also include regrowing food scraps within their household waste reduction and sustainability advice, as part of broader guidance on reducing food waste at source.
4. Use general waste bins where food collections are not yet active
Where food waste services have not yet been fully rolled out, and with up to 79 councils being delayed until 2040 at the earliest to deliver on the food waste changes, exceptions have in some cases been made to allow food waste in general waste bins.
This is a transitional measure while caddies are delivered and weekly food waste collections are fully implemented under Simpler Recycling.
However, it is important to check with your local council if you are allowed to do this, as you could, although very unlikely, be fined if you place waste in the general waste bin.
5. Reuse food scraps for household uses
WRAP and local authority guidance highlight that some food by-products can be reused outside of cooking and disposal.
Citrus peel can be used in natural cleaning infusions, while coffee grounds are widely referenced by councils – including Leeds City Council – for gardening, composting and odour control. Coffee grounds in particular can be used in the garden as a mulch for your plants.
These practices form part of wider circular economy approaches promoted in UK waste policy.
6. Reduce food waste at source
The most widely recommended step in reducing household food waste is prevention at source – something WRAP, which leads national food waste monitoring through the Courtauld Commitment for DEFRA, says remains the most effective way to cut waste overall.
WRAP’s guidance highlights simple actions such as meal planning, correct food storage, using leftovers and freezing surplus food as key ways to stop food becoming waste in the first place, rather than dealing with it after disposal.
A spokesperson for waste management firm Divert said the rollout is changing how households understand their waste: “The new Simpler Recycling regulations have been a great eye-opener for many people into how much food we actually waste as a nation. When food waste gets mixed in with your general waste, it’s hard to understand the scale, but once it’s separated, you will start to realise just how much we throw away.”
Divert added that once households begin separating food waste, many are surprised by the volume produced, particularly in larger households where standard caddy sizes fill quickly.
As Simpler Recycling continues to roll out across England, councils are still working to complete food waste caddy distribution and expand weekly collections.
In the meantime, households are being encouraged to manage scraps through composting, regrowing, reuse, freezing, and temporary general waste disposal where necessary.
But as WRAP, DEFRA and waste experts, including Divert, emphasise, the biggest long-term shift is not just how food waste is collected – but reducing how much is created in the first place.
