Best food waste bins and food waste bags 2026

New council rules in England coming in on 31 March 2026 mean that around double the number of households will start having weekly food waste bin collections.

Collection times, exact rules and what can go in vary from council to council. But wherever in the UK you're having your food waste taken, we've found the best food waste bags and food waste caddies to take the stress out of handling food waste.

We've tested food waste bags from every major UK supermarket, including Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Waitrose, alongside Who Gives a Crap, Beast and other popular brands.

We've also tested 10 of the most popular kitchen caddy bins, from the likes of Joseph Joseph, simplehuman, OXO, John Lewis and more.

Our tough tests have uncovered seven products worth putting your orange peel in, including three low-cost Great Value products and four outstanding Best Buys.

The food waste bags we tested

The food waste bags we tested are listed below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the food waste bags test results. 

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations.

The food waste bags we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best food waste bags from our tests.

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.

Aldi Power Force Compostable Caddy Liners 10L

Available from Aldi (£1.45) (Only available in-store)

Pack sizes available 20

Capacity 10L

Cost per bag 7.3p

Compostability Certified industrially compostable – not suitable for home composting

Asda Biodegradable 20 Tie Top Kitchen Caddy Liners 5 Litres

Pack sizes available 20

Capacity 5L

Cost per bag 7.6p

Compostability Certified compostable – suitable for home composting

Beast Drawstring 10L Compostable Caddy Liners

Pack sizes available 16

Capacity 10L

Cost per bag 20.8p

Compostability Certified compostable - suitable for home composting

Co-op Biodegradable Caddy Liners Bags

Available from Co-op (£2.95)

Pack sizes available 15

Capacity 10L

Cost per bag 19.7p

Compostability Certified compostable – suitable for home composting

Greener Walker 6L 100% Compostable Biodegradable Bin Liners

Pack sizes available 150, 120

Capacity 6L

Cost per bag 7p

Compostability Certified compostable – suitable for home composting

Joseph Joseph IW2 Biodegradable Food Waste Caddy Liners

Pack sizes available 50

Capacity 4L

Cost per bag 18p

Compostability Certified industrially compostable – not suitable for home composting

Lidl Purio Biodegradable Caddy Liners

Available from Lidl (£1.45) (Only available in-store)

Pack sizes available 20

Capacity 15L

Cost per bag 7.3p

Compostability Certified industrially compostable – not suitable for home composting

Want to sort your regular rubbish while you're at it? See the best bin bags

M&S Caddy Bin Liners

Available from Ocado (£2.50)

Pack sizes available 22

Capacity 10L

Cost per bag 11.4p

Compostability Certified industrially compostable – not suitable for home composting

Morrisons Bio Caddy Pedal Bin Liners

Pack sizes available 20

Capacity 5L

Cost per bag 8.5p

Compostability Certified compostable – suitable for home composting

Sainsbury's Kitchen Caddy Liners

Available from Sainsbury's (£1.75)

Pack sizes available 20

Capacity 10L

Cost per bag 8.8p

Compostability Certified industrially compostable – not suitable for home composting

Simplehuman Code Z Compostable Trash Bags

Pack sizes available 30

Capacity 4L

Cost per bag 33.2p

Compostability Certified compostable – suitable for home composting

Tesco Compostable Caddy Liners Tie Top

Pack sizes available 20

Capacity 10L

Cost per bag 8.8p

Compostability Certified compostable – suitable for home composting

Waitrose Compostable Caddy Liners

Available from Waitrose (£2.50)

Pack sizes available 20

Capacity 12L

Cost per bag 12.5p

Compostability Certified compostable – suitable for home composting

Who Gives a Crap Compostable Food Scrap Bags

Available from Who Gives a Crap (£10)

Pack sizes available 60

Capacity 11.35L

Cost per bag 16.7p

Compostability Certified compostable – suitable for home composting

The food waste bins we tested

The kitchen caddies we tested are listed below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the kitchen caddy bins test results. 

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations.

The food waste bins we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best kitchen caddies from our tests.

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.

Addis Everyday Kitchen Food Waste Compost Caddy Bin 518695

Size and weight 19 x 24.2 x 18.5cm (H x W x D); 260g

Capacity 4L

Need to know Available in 13 different colours; not wall-mountable, detachable lid, no bag fitting rim

Brabantia Compost Food Waste Caddy 117541

Size and weight 10.7 x 22 x 12cm (H x W x D); 400g

Capacity 1.8L

Need to know Available in dark grey or jade green; not wall-mountable, detachable lid, no bag fitting rim

Dunelm Sinkside Caddy

Size and weight 19 x 24.5 x 18.5cm (H x W x D); 260g

Capacity 4L

Need to know Not wall-mountable, detachable lid, no bag fitting rim

EKO Deco Caddy EK6010

Size and weight 16.5 x 24 x 17cm (H x W x D); 788g

Capacity 4L

Need to know Available in grey matte or titanium blue; not wall-mountable, detachable lid, no bag fitting rim

John Lewis Food Waste Caddy

Available from John Lewis (£12)

Size and weight 20.3 x 16.7 x 12.2cm (H x W x D); 270g

Capacity 3L

Need to know Wall-mountable, detachable lid, no bag fitting rim

Complete your kitchen set up with our picks of the best kitchen bins

Joseph Joseph Compo Food Waste Caddy

Size and weight 17.3 x 29.7 x 12cm (H x W x D); 660g

Capacity 4L

Need to know Available in stone or graphite colours, wall-mountable, detachable lid, bag fitting rim, slots on lid that open/close

Joseph Joseph Stack Food Waste Caddy

Size and weight 16.1 x 23.5 x 19.7cm (H x W x D); 780g

Capacity 4L

Need to know Available in stone or graphite colours; not wall-mountable, detachable lid, bag fitting rim, odour catcher compartment in lid (one odour catcher comes included, replacements available at SQUIRREL_TEXT_50024877)

Minky Kitchen Food Caddy

Size and weight 17.5 x 18.5 x 19cm (H x W x D); 300g

Capacity 3.5L

Need to know Available in eight different colours; not wall-mountable, detachable lid, bag fitting rim

OXO Good Grips Easy-Clean Compost Bin

Size and weight 19 x 20 x 20cm (H x W x D); 540g

Capacity 2.83L

Need to know Available in white or charcoal colours; not wall-mountable, detachable lid, no bag fitting rim

Simplehuman CW1645 Compost Caddy

Size and weight 22 x 24.3 x 13.2cm (H x W x D); 1.36kg

Capacity 4L

Need to know Wall-mountable, detachable lid, bag fitting rim, removable inner bin, one pack of Simplehuman Code Z Compostable Trash Bags included

How we test food waste bins and food waste bags

Our tough tests push food waste bags and kitchen caddies to their limits, using force gauges, drop tests and smelly food waste concoctions that make us want to hold our noses (although we don't, because we need to test for odours). 

We regularly revisit the food waste bags and kitchen caddy bins on sale to see if there are any more popular models that need testing and when we find them we do.

Leak proofing, odour resistance and cleaning

• We tie up food waste bags with onions, coffee, gravy and other scraps, and leave them for four days (the maximum recommended use time of a food waste bag) to see if any of them leak. The best were bone dry, others less so.
• We put a similar combination into food waste bins and assess how well the bins and bags neutralise or reduce smelly odours.
• We test how resistant to oily fingerprints the kitchen caddies are, and clean them from top to bottom to assess how straightforward the task is. 

Puncture resistance, stretching and durability

• Using a force gauge, we measure the average force it takes to puncture a hole through each food waste bag. The strongest we've tested take almost twice the force to puncture as the weakest.
• We also fill the bags up to see how well they handle a heavy weight. We've found that fresh food waste bags are all good at holding heavy weight, but that their strength wanes when they've been full of soggy food waste for several days.
• We drop the kitchen caddies from the average human knuckle height to simulate someone dropping them by accident when carrying them around their kitchen, and inspect them for damage.

Ease of tying, fitting and convenience

• Food waste bags come in a variety of styles, and some are much harder to tie up than others. We also assess how easily they can be fitted to kitchen caddies, and how effectively the caddy bins hold the bags in place.
• We inspect the food waste bins to make sure they're easy to hold and lift, and don't take up an unwieldy amount of kitchen space for the capacity they offer.

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What are the new food waste collection council rules and how do they affect me?

Rule changes aimed at simplifying waste collections across England are coming into force by 31 March 2026, and this includes all councils providing weekly food waste collections.

In Wales, all local councils already provide weekly food waste collections, as do around 80% of councils in Scotland (excepting those in particularly rural and difficult-to-access areas). Northern Ireland's councils provide them to every household, but not all of them collect weekly.

If the changes in England mean that regular food waste collections will be new to you, your council should provide you with a kerbside food waste bin to go with your usual wheelie bins, and a free kitchen caddy bin to go with it. Some councils will also provide a free pack of food waste bags to get you started.

You'll need to put your leftover food scraps, such as onion skins, orange peel and coffee grounds, into your kitchen caddy bin day to day – and then empty it into your kerbside food waste bin ready for collection, along with your other bins.

To find out when food waste collections will be happening in your area, check your local council's website our head to gov.uk to find out your local collection day.

Get expert assistance on waste disposal with our comprehensive guide on How to recycle in the UK

What goes in a food waste bin?

What's acceptable to go in food waste bins may very slightly from council to council, so it's important to check your local council's website to know for certain. But, generally speaking, these items should be fine to go into your food waste:

• all cooked and uncooked food, including meat and fish (plus any bones), fruit and veg, and any leftovers from mealtimes
• any grains, pulses, legumes or pasta
• any dairy products such as eggs, cheese or yoghurt
• pet food.

However, these items are generally not allowed in your food waste:

• cooking oils or fats
• liquids such as milk or juice
• packaging of any kind (including compostable packaging – this is because it takes much longer to break down than regular food waste and can contaminate the process)
• kitchen roll or tissues
• nappies or sanitary items
• any non-food but organic matter, particularly garden waste or soil
• bin bags that are not certified compostable.

Keep on top of what and what not to eat with our expert guides on nutrition and supplements

Are tea bags compostable?

Some are, some aren't. It largely depends on the presence of plastics that are used to seal the tea bags when they're manufactured, and this plastic is not compostable.

Tea bags that are compostable generally use polylactic acid (PLA), a plant-based plastic, instead. So check the packaging before you fling your used tea bag into your compost.

For more detail on this topic, and a full list of which tea bags are and aren't compostable, see our story: Is there plastic in your tea?

What's the difference between compostable and biodegradable bags?

Compostable

Compostable bags are designed to break down entirely into compost, usually within a timeframe of six months to a year, depending on how ideal their composting environment is in terms of heat and moisture.

In the UK, food waste bags can either be certified industrially compostable, meaning they can be taken away in food waste collections and composted, but can't be composted at home – or they can be 'OK Home' certified, meaning they're also suitable for home compost heaps.

Biodegradeable

Calling something 'biodegradeable' doesn't establish a reasonable timeframe for something breaking down. All it means is that it will degrade at some point, but this could be years, or even hundreds of years, and it can leave microplastics or other contaminants behind afterwards.

If you're conscious of your impact on the environment, be wary of products that market themselves as 'biodegradable' but don't mention being 'compostable', or have any certifications confirming their compostability.

All the food waste bags we've tested are certified as either home or industrially compostable, and we've clarified their certified suitability for either home or industrial composting in our reviews.

Avoid getting caught out by greenwashing with our guide: Green brands: how sustainable really are they?

Do you have to line your food waste caddy?

Not always. But some councils do require that food waste left in the kerbside food waste bins for collection be in bags, in which case you'll either need to line your kitchen food waste caddy or line your kerbside food waste bin.

Make sure you check your local council's website to ensure you aren't running afoul of the rules.

Some councils don't want food waste bins lined with food waste bags, but still require a bag of some kind, such as a bread bag, to contain the food waste. This is because some food waste bags can clog the machines councils use to process the food waste.

In these instances, councils will be able to separate the plastic bag from the food waste at the processing stage, and can then recycle that plastic bag along with other recyclable plastics.

If you have a garden, any appropriate food scraps could instead go into a compost bin. See the best compost bins we recommend