Homes to receive food waste caddies next year

A town's residents are to get an extra bin and two food caddies as part of a changes to how its waste is managed.

Homes in Middlesbrough will receive the bins in April 2026 as part of the government's Simpler Recycling scheme, which aims to create great consistency in recycled items around the country.

Along with the food waste caddies, residents will also receive a bin for paper and card, which will be collected every two weeks.

Middlesbrough Council's director of environment and community services Geoff Field said as a town, "we are very poor recyclers".

"We are one of the worst in the country," he said.

"We need to turn that around and we will try and make that as simple as possible and as seamless as possible."

Field said the bins would lead to less contamination of recycling waste.

One of the new food waste caddies has been designed to sit in the kitchen, while the second will be larger and stored outside, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council is in the process of purchasing special vehicles to pick up the food waste.

The scheme was being paid for by central government, Field said.

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