Deliveries of new red-lid recycling bins and food waste caddies start in March, with free weekly collections launching in summer
Claire Elliott and Teesside Live readers
00:01, 17 Feb 2026
From the start of March, households will start to receive 240-litre red-lidded bins for free fortnightly collections of paper and cardboard, as well as new food waste recycling caddies(Image: Middlesbrough Council)
Teesside Live readers have been sharing their views as Middlesbrough is set to roll out a new waste and recycling bin scheme starting in March. Each household will get a small five-litre indoor caddy for food waste and a larger 23-litre outdoor caddy, which will be emptied weekly.
Homes with wheeled bins will receive a free 240-litre red-lid bin for paper and cardboard, collected every two weeks. Households without bins will be given red sacks for recycling paper and cardboard.
Distribution of the new caddies and red-lid bins begins Monday, March 2, with weekly food waste collections expected to start in the summer. Residents will receive leaflets and wheelie bin tags to guide them through the roll-out. Each home will also get a roll of compostable liners and instructions for using the new bins. The existing blue-lid bin will continue to be used for plastics, glass, and tins.
The scheme is part of a Government initiative to increase recycling rates. Cllr Peter Gavigan, the council’s executive member for environment and sustainability, said: “These are some of the biggest changes to the way we collect waste and recycling for many years, so we’ll do everything we can to make the transition as smooth as possible. Around half of homes in England now have food waste collection, and it’s time for us to make this important change which will have long-term benefits for all of us. Food waste accounts for around a third of the average household bin, so recycling it helps reduce harmful greenhouse gases. It’s all part of our overall aim to improve recycling rates, and we’ll work with residents to make a real and lasting difference.”
Commenter Riverslide_stadium thinks: “ This sounds like a recipe for disaster. I don’t usually waste much food, but anything leftover either goes to the dog or down the loo. Is the council going to check every bin?”
Chapeau says: “I absolutely will not be saving food waste (if there is any), we might as well set a table for the rats. Also why would anyone want the small thing stinking their kitchen out. Now on top of having to work to pay extortionate council tax I have to come home and file my rubbish.”
Purplerain1 retorts: “If you don’t have any food waste, you don’t have to find some! Most people already put their food waste in a kitchen bin so this won’t be any different, except that they can bag up and put the content of the small caddy into the outdoor one every day, so there won’t be any smell in the kitchen. Also the caddies will be emptied every week while the general waste (which some people want to continue using) will only be emptied every 2 weeks. All you need to do is choose which bin to put things in. It’s not difficult.”
moan_fatigue adds: “Yes, there are residents of some areas that don’t understand simple instructions and just moan!”
Kevphill thinks: “The Middlesbrough terraces that have communal bins, will mostly not recycle at all and just dump everything in them, thus facilitating the huge rat problem.”
Reccescout writes: “They will make good planters and firewood stores, I certainly will not be using them. We already pay massive levels of CT for the councils to collect, sort and dispose of our waste, now they are wanting us to do their jobs for them.”
Pandathetortoise suggests: “Surely it’s worth giving it a try? If, as one person suggested, it attracts rats, or if bin and recycling crews are called out to collect from immobile or disabled residents but forget or choose not to, the council might have to rethink the system. Paying Rentokil and repeatedly sending crews out would be costly, so this could push them to change how they handle collections.”
Kg13 asks: “So a black bin, blue bin, red bin, garden bin and if I’m right 2 food bins as well. If my maths is right, that’s 6 bins in total, how are people going to remember what bin/s it is that week? Feel sorry for the vulnerable, poor folks will get confused.”
Sausage1 comments: “Can’t afford to throw food away now, it’s too expensive.”
Jacktheslipper replies: “Bones, vegetable peelings, used tea bags. Do you eat those things?”
Thetruthhurts2 complains: “Honestly makes me not want to bother trying with the recycling any more. I think I’ll just be bagging and binning anything in any old bin from now on.”
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Are you finding the new bin scheme frustrating? Do you feel it’s going to make recycling more complicated or will you embrace the new rules for the sake of the environment? Have your say in our comments section.