Before your first food waste collection
We will be introducing our weekly food waste collections in spring 2026, find out more about what will happen before your first collection.
You can now view your collection dates online and soon we will be delivering new containers to your home with instructions on how to use them.
Your caddy and starter pack delivery
We will be delivering starter packs to all households from February 2026 to April 2026. You will receive a 23-litre grey bin with an orange lockable lid, a 5-litre internal kitchen caddy, an instructional leaflet and a roll of liners to get you started. The starter pack is free.
No one needs to be home to take delivery of the starter pack. The pack will be delivered outside your property, or outside your door if you live in a flat.
Flats will receive a 5-litre internal kitchen caddy, an instructional leaflet and a roll of liners. A 140-litre wheeled bin with an orange lockable lid will be supplied to your bin store for you to empty your kitchen caddy contents into. Visit our Food waste collection in flats page for more information for residents in flats.
If you haven't received your starter pack
We're delivering starter packs in February to April 2026, but the exact dates will depend on where you live and what days your bins are currently collected. From early 2026 you will be able to check your online bin calendar to see when your food waste collections start.
Nearer the time you will also be able to find more information on collection dates and times using our app, which will automatically update before your new collections start. Download the Horsham District Council app.
If necessary, you can just use the outside caddy. The kitchen caddy is only 5 litres and is designed to be kept on a kitchen work surface, windowsill or in a cupboard or under the sink. However, if you don't want to use the kitchen caddy, simply empty your food waste directly into the larger 23-litre food waste bin which you can keep outside. You could also use your own smaller container to keep food waste in the kitchen before transferring to the outside bin.
The lockable food bin is not as large as a regular recycling or general waste bin. It is a 23-litre container that takes up about as much space as a pair of adult size wellington boots.
The liners are packed inside the kitchen caddy along with the information leaflet. If you’ve checked inside the caddy and they are not there, please call us on 01403 215100.
The bin lid may arrive with a slight warp due to the nature of the materials used in its construction. This is entirely normal and should not impact the functionality of the locking mechanism. Over time, the lid is expected to settle into place, resulting in a more secure fit. Please keep your bin in the locked position and this will help to settle the lid.
When to start using your food waste caddy and bin
We strongly advise you do not use the bin until the week before it is due to be collected. We have no way of collecting your food waste bin before this time and we do not recommend storing separate food waste longer than one week.
In some areas, we may be delivering packs several weeks before collections begin. Please check your online bin calendar to see when your food waste collections start.
Your first collection
Collections are due to start in the spring of 2026, but the exact dates will depend on where you live and what days your bins are currently collected. To see when your food waste collections start, check your online bin calendar.
Nearer the time you will also be able to find personalised information on collection dates and time using our app, which will automatically update before your new collections start. Download the Horsham District Council app.
Your collection day will not change, and your food waste recycling bin will be collected weekly on the same day as either your recycling or general waste bin.
On your collection day, please place your lockable grey and orange bin outside your property for collection by 6am. We can only accept this food waste bin for collection: kitchen caddies will not be emptied by our crews.
The collection crews will visit your property each week in a special, smaller food waste collection vehicle.