BIN SHAKE-UP: Havant Food Waste Caddies Hit Doorsteps as 10,000 Homes Join Recycling Trial

Havant households are being pulled into a bin shake-up that could change the weekly rhythm on thousands of doorsteps — as food waste caddies arrive and a new collection service begins its first big test.

The borough council says weekly food waste collections are starting in phases, with an initial pilot covering 10,000 households before a wider roll-out later in the year. For residents used to scraping leftovers into the ordinary rubbish, the message is simple: the peelings, plate scrapings, tea bags and gone-off fridge finds are getting their own bin.

## The caddy countdown begins

Under the pilot, selected households are being written to before receiving two containers: a small kitchen caddy for indoor use and a larger outdoor caddy for kerbside collection. The outdoor caddy is emptied every week, on the same day as normal rubbish and recycling unless the council tells residents otherwise.

Havant Borough Council's public food waste guidance says weekly collections will start in areas of the borough from April 2026. A separate council news update said the pilot would begin at the end of April, with collections starting from Monday 20 April and 10,000 households included.

That means May is the first proper settling-in period for the scheme: the point where the novelty wears off, missed habits are exposed, and households find out whether the caddy becomes a useful kitchen routine or another container to trip over by the back door.

## Why is this happening?

The change is not just a local green experiment. Councils across England are preparing for the Government's Simpler Recycling reforms under the Environment Act 2021, aimed at making household recycling more consistent and increasing the amount of waste kept out of general rubbish.

Food waste is a big target because it is heavy, wet and common. Havant's own March announcement quoted Councillor Netty Shepherd, deputy leader and cabinet lead for commercial, saying food waste makes up about 25 per cent of the average household waste bin and could be recycled.

For residents, that is the heart of the pitch: less food slop in the main bin, fewer smells, less rubbish heading to the incinerator, and more material being turned into something useful.

## What can go in?

The council's guidance lists a broad range of items that will be accepted once collections begin. Bread, cakes, pastries, cheese, yoghurt, cooked and uncooked vegetables, peelings, fish, shellfish, meat and bones, fruit skins, egg shells, pet food, plate scrapings, rice, pasta, beans, solid fats, tea bags and coffee grounds can all go in.

So can leftover takeaways and mouldy or out-of-date food. That last category may be where many households notice the difference fastest: the forgotten bag of salad, the dried-out slice of pizza, the last spoonfuls from the saucepan and the suspicious tub at the back of the fridge no longer have to sit in the black bin.

But the council is also warning residents not to treat the caddy as a mini general waste bin. If unsuitable items are put in, the caddy may not be collected. That means packaging, plastic, glass, nappies and ordinary rubbish stay out.

## Where does it go?

The borough is working with Portsmouth City Council on the collection and processing arrangements. The council says collected food waste will be sent for anaerobic digestion, a process that produces biogas and soil improvers such as compost and liquid fertiliser.

In plain English: leftovers are broken down in a controlled system, energy is captured, and the remains can be used as nutrients rather than being burned with mixed rubbish.

That is the environmental case. The practical case is whether residents find the system clean and convenient enough to use every week.

## What stays the same?

The council says alternate weekly household waste collections will continue as normal. Recycling bin materials are not changing. Glass should still be taken to glass banks, and hard plastics should continue going to plastic banks. Garden waste subscriptions and bulky waste collections are also unaffected.

For many Havant households, that means the calendar is not being ripped up overnight. The food caddy is being added to the routine rather than replacing the existing bins.

## Will everyone get it now?

No. The launch is phased. The council says the service starts with a pilot area before rolling out to all households later in the year. If a household is in the first wave, it should receive a letter and then the caddies.

That detail matters because residents in Havant, Leigh Park, Emsworth, Bedhampton, Hayling Island and Waterlooville may not all start at the same time. If no letter or caddy has arrived, the household may simply not be in the opening phase.

The council says the results of the pilot will be monitored before the longer-term borough-wide roll-out.

## The questions residents will ask

The first question is likely to be smell. The council's argument is that removing food from the main bin should actually make household rubbish cleaner and less smelly, especially in warmer weather. The success of that will depend on residents emptying kitchen caddies regularly and keeping the outdoor caddy closed.

The second is space. Some kitchens are already crowded, and another caddy may feel like clutter. But smaller indoor caddies are designed to sit near the food preparation area, while the larger container stays outside for collection.

The third is confusion. People will need to learn what goes where. The list is generous, but it is still specific. The scheme will only work smoothly if residents keep packaging and non-food waste out.

## A quiet revolution on the kerbside

This is not the sort of story that arrives with flashing lights. It is not a dramatic council row or a sudden road closure. But for thousands of households, it is a real change: a new bin, a new habit, and a new weekly collection.

If the pilot works, Havant's food leftovers could soon be leaving the borough's kitchens in a very different way. If it stumbles, the council will have a messy education job on its hands before rolling it out more widely.

For now, the instruction is clear: watch for the letter, read the leaflet, keep the caddy for food only — and prepare for the humble potato peeling to become part of Havant's biggest waste shake-up of the year.