New food waste caddies being delivered to residents

Residents will have to separate their food waste as part of an England-wide scheme to be more environmentally friendly.

North Northamptonshire Council will start delivering two food caddies to households in Kettering and Wellingborough over the next few weeks ahead of collections starting in autumn.

The UK produces about 6.4 million tonnes of food waste annually, according to the environmental action body Wrap.

Most of that currently gets scraped into people's black bins along with general rubbish, meaning it is burned or sent to landfill - creating unwanted greenhouse gases.

The council said there is set to be a smaller bin for inside the property and a larger bin to be placed out for collection.

It is hoped the scheme will encourage people to reduce how much food they waste.

Food waste recycled separately can be used to produce electricity, reducing the amount of waste rotting in landfills and releasing greenhouse gases.

In February, West Northamptonshire Council said it collected about 187 tonnes of food waste a week — which equates to about 19,700 tonnes a year.

The council said between April and 31 December 2025, the average household was throwing out six stone (39kg) of food.

Reform UK councillor Ken Harrington, executive member for assets, waste and environmental services, said: "Residents in Kettering and Wellingborough areas have been keen to have food waste collections for some time, and we're nearly ready to roll out the service - keep an eye out for an exact start date.

He continued: "In the meantime, keep your new caddies safe and take a look at the information about what can be placed in your new bins."

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