Westminster City Council – Homepage

Using the food waste service

What can I put in my food waste bin?

Items you can place in your food bin:

  • food waste, such as plate scrapings or mouldy food
  • fish, meat and bones 
  • dairy foods, such as cheese, yoghurt, eggs, including eggshells
  • tea bags and coffee grounds  
  • rice, pasta and beans  
  • bread and pastries  
  • fruits and vegetables

Please do not put these in your food bins: 

  • packaging of any kind, including compostable packaging
  • black plastic bags  
  • liquids, such as milk  
  • flowers or garden waste
  • oil and liquid fat  
  • any material that is not food waste, for example cotton t-shirts, food tupperware, or food packaging

How to use your kitchen bin

We provide residents with one initial roll of food waste liners as part of the food waste recycling roll-out. Each roll contains 52 liners, and we recommend only filling them up as much as possible before taking them securely tied to the outdoor food waste recycling bin.

Once you have used up your initial roll of food waste liners, you can:

  • email the Recycling Team: [email protected] or phone the call centre on 020 7641 2000 to request another roll of liners. Please provide your full address, including flat number (if applicable) and full postcode.
  • if convenient, pick up a roll of liners from any of our libraries including Church Street, Maida Vale, Pimlico, Queen's Park, St John's Wood or Paddington, Victoria, Charing Cross, Mayfair, Marylebone and Westminster Reference Library. If you experience any issues picking up the liners, please email the Recycling Team at [email protected] or phone the call centre on 020 7641 2000. Please note Little Venice Sports Centre is not a food waste liner pick-up point.
  • if you live on a housing estate, you can pick up a roll of liners from Tachbrook Estate (Peabody) workshop, Peabody Avenue (Peabody) caretaker’s flat, Churchill Gardens Estate office on Lupus Street or from Church Street Estate Central Office, 24 Lilestone Street.
  • buy your own food waste liners from supermarkets or other retailers, such as transparent pedal bin liners, the liners can be compostable or made from recycled plastic, either way, they are removed at our processing facility before the food waste is recycled.
  • use old plastic bags that are coming to the end of their life.
  • used newspaper or paper bags.

Find your nearest food waste liner pick-up point

Please do not use black bin bags to line your kitchen bin. If you use black plastic bags, your food waste recycling bin will not be collected as our crews cannot check if the bin is contaminated (for example, the wrong thing, such as compostable food packaging, has been put inside the bin).

Please line your kitchen bin with your food waste liner of choice as outlined above, and then put your food in it. Please remember to remove all packaging before putting food in your food waste bin.

Whenever you need to empty the kitchen bin, tie the top of the liner and take the liner (depending on your property type) to: 

When we initially deliver the food waste bins to your property, we will also deliver one roll of food waste liners.

About our food waste bin liners

Our liners are made with 100% recycled plastic.

They enable us to collect food waste hygienically and keep the food waste bins clean.

Our food waste is sent for anaerobic digestion processing. The liners are removed before treatment and sent to an energy-from-waste facility, where they are used as fuel to generate electricity.