---
title: "Where do Food scraps and leftovers go? Food waste collection"
description: "Food waste collection where you have one — it accepts cooked food, meat and dairy, unlike a home compost heap. Why that route, what goes wrong on the wrong one, and "
url: https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/food-waste/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Where do Food scraps and leftovers go?

**Where do Food scraps and leftovers go?: Food waste collection where you have one — it accepts cooked food, meat and dairy, unlike a home compost heap.**

Food waste collection

Kerbside food waste goes to anaerobic digestion or in-vessel composting, both of which run hot enough and sealed enough to handle meat, bones, cooked food and dairy that a garden heap cannot. That is the practical difference worth knowing: the caddy takes what the compost bin should not. Food in general waste goes to landfill, where it decomposes without oxygen and produces methane, or to incineration, where its water content works against the process. Not every authority collects food waste separately, and the ones that do differ on liners — some take compostable bags, some only newspaper, some neither.

## How to prepare it

1. Line the caddy with newspaper or a certified compostable liner if your council allows one.
2. Drain liquids off; the caddy is for solids.
3. Keep packaging out — a wrapped sandwich is two waste streams.

## What not to do

- Never put plastic bags in the food waste caddy; they survive the process and have to be screened out.
- Never pour liquid fat into it.

> Kerbside collection rules genuinely vary by council and county, and local rules always win over general guidance. The reasoning above is what transfers — if your service differs, it will usually be for a reason described here.

## Other things that go to food waste collection

- [Teabags](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/teabags/) — Food waste or compost — but many bags are sealed with polypropylene, and that plastic mesh stays behind.
- [Cooking fat, lard and dripping](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/cooking-fat/) — Let it solidify, scrape it into the food waste or general bin. Never down the drain, at any temperature.
- [Bones](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/bones/) — Food waste collection if you have one. Never a home compost heap.
- [Coffee grounds](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/coffee-grounds/) — Compost heap or food waste. Good material in both, in moderation.
- [Eggshells](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/eggshells/) — Compost or food waste. Crush them first or they will still be recognisable next year.

## Common questions

### Where do Food scraps and leftovers go?

Food waste collection where you have one — it accepts cooked food, meat and dairy, unlike a home compost heap.

### What happens if you put Food scraps and leftovers in the wrong bin?

Never put plastic bags in the food waste caddy; they survive the process and have to be screened out. Never pour liquid fat into it.

## Related pages

- [Where do Teabags go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/teabags/)
- [Where do Cooking fat, lard and dripping go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/cooking-fat/)
- [Where do Bones go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/bones/)
- [Where do Coffee grounds go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/coffee-grounds/)
- [Where do Eggshells go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/eggshells/)
- [Where do Household batteries (AA, AAA, C, D, 9V) go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/batteries/)
- [Where do Lithium-ion batteries go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/lithium-batteries/)
- [Where do Vapes and disposable e-cigarettes go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/vapes/)
- [Where do Medicines and tablets go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/medicines/)
- [Where do Pizza boxes go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/pizza-boxes/)
- [Where do Leftover wet paint go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/paint-wet/)

## Sources

- US Environmental Protection Agency — EPA (https://www.epa.gov/) [Public domain (US Government)]