Not Just Another Bin – Community Voices on Food Waste Collection in Newcastle

Introduction

In 2026 Newcastle City Council will introduce food waste collection in the city. To prepare for this city wide rollout they asked INE to help them evaluate their Food Waste Pilot in the West End of Newcastle that started in September 2024. INE brought together a team of academics with expertise in behaviour change (Stephanie Wilkie), food systems (Diogo De Souza Monteiro) and sustainable business and behaviour (Patricia Prado). The first part of the project explored attitudes to food waste collection before the food waste pilot and behaviours of residents in the food waste pilot area. In the second part we have explored community voice on the barriers and motivations for participating and we are now ready to share the findings of this research.

Why does it matter?

The Environment Act 2021 sets into law that all local councils should offer kerb side food waste collection by 31st of March 2026. Whilst this is proving challenging for many councils due to long lead times for vehicles and bins, or long waste management contracts, Newcastle is ahead of the curve by piloting food waste collections to test and improve the service in a small area before the full city rollout. The pilot has generated 600 tonnes of food waste, which is an equivalent weight to around 6 million sausage rolls! The food waste is being repurposed to create renewable energy capable of powering 563 homes and it also produces 400 tonnes of fertiliser to support local agriculture. These figures will exponentially increase as the food waste collection rolls out across the city.

Community Workshops

We ran four community workshops in the West End of Newcastle in spring 2025 reaching just under 50 participants. One of the workshops was organised with the Newcastle Bangladeshi Association (NBA) to get a detailed understanding of Asian communities perspectives. For this workshop, we benefited from our Research Associate having close connections to the NBA, and we made sure to have translated the materials in advance and had translators in the sessions to overcome any language barriers.

Key themes from the Community Workshops.

1. There is no “one‑size‑fits‑all” approach

Uniform messaging is less effective than targeted communication. Participation varies significantly by:

• Household composition and dwelling type (e.g. flats vs houses),
• Language, literacy and digital access,
• Gendered household roles (food preparation vs bin presentation), and
• Capacity constraints and health or mobility needs.

To be most effective, schemes need to segment residents and tailor engagement, using multiple channels and trusted community settings.

2. Visibility, trust and service reliability are critical

Workshops highlighted that trust in the Council and confidence in service delivery strongly influence willingness to participate. Missed collections, unclear responsibilities or fear of future charges will rapidly undermine engagement.

Residents value:

• Seeing Council officers as present and responsive,
• Clear explanations of why food waste segregation matters and what happens to waste after collection, and
• A perception of one joined‑up waste service, rather than fragmented messaging.

3. The food waste caddy itself is a behavioural “nudge”

Physical presence of a food waste caddy in the kitchen can:

• Increase awareness of how much waste is generated,
• Encourage habit formation, and
• Act as a visual prompt for behaviour change.

However, acceptability matters. Size, durability, smell, pest concerns, storage space and aesthetics were all cited as participation barriers.

4. Knowledge gaps remain widespread

Across workshops, residents commonly reported confusion about:

• What counts as food waste,
• Whether oil, bones or cooked food can be included,
• Whether food waste collection will be mandatory, and
• How to manage hygiene, smell and capacity — particularly in the warmer months or in large households.

There is a need for clear, repeated and practical guidance, not just awareness‑raising.

5. Community‑based engagement amplifies impact

Schools, community centres, faith groups and local organisations were consistently identified as trusted and effective routes for embedding knowledge and normalising behaviour.

Children were widely viewed as powerful change agents within households, reinforcing the case for primary school‑focused engagement linked to curricula and family learning.

Next Steps for the City‑Wide Rollout

We are working with Newcastle City Council Waste Management Team to develop actionable insights for them to take forward for the city-wide rollout. They are already developing information leaflets in different languages to reach a broad range of residents. Whilst this research has focused on Newcastle, the lessons from our research can provide the evidence base to inform councils across the country when designing food waste collection services. Newcastle Council is leading the way by listening to residents and acting on what matters to them, and this can turn food waste collection into a service that communities not only use, but champion.