Luton Borough Council

04/02/2026 - Food waste caddies to arrive on doorsteps from this week

Luton Council has started delivering food waste caddies to over 60,000 households ahead of the introduction of weekly food waste collections from Tuesday 31 March, as part of the government’s Simpler Recycling legislation.

Over the next six weeks, residents will receive a kitchen caddy, an outdoor food waste bin, and an information leaflet explaining how to use the new service. As this is a large-scale rollout, residents are kindly asked to remain patient and avoid contacting the council until all deliveries have been completed.

The initial roll-out applies to kerbside households only. Due to the different arrangements required, we will be rolling out food recycling services to flats over the coming months. The council will provide updates once plans for these properties are confirmed.

Key dates

• Caddy deliveries start: Tuesday 3 February

• Delivery period: Up to six weeks

• Start using your caddy: From Tuesday 24 March

• Collections begin: Tuesday 31 March, on your usual bin day

• Tip: Add your house number to your outdoor caddy for easy identification

Both the kitchen and outdoor caddies have lockable lids to help contain odours and prevent access by animals or pests.

Councillor Ghulam Abbas, portfolio holder for Strategic Waste Authority, said: “This is an important step forward in improving recycling in Luton. While reducing food waste as much as possible is, by far, the best thing residents can do for the environment, by recycling food waste separately, we can turn everyday leftovers into something valuable and help improve the environmental impact of the town.

“I would also like to remind residents that food waste caddies should not be put out for collection before the service officially starts on Tuesday 31 March, as they will not be collected before that date.”

For more information, visit the council’s food waste collections webpage.