Kerbside glass recycling has launched across Bedford Borough, with Bedfordians now able to put glass bottles and jars straight into their orange-lidded recycling bins.
The move follows a successful trial and is designed to boost recycling rates, cut waste going to landfill and make it easier to recycle more from home.
It is part of a wider set of changes that will also see weekly kerbside food waste collections introduced from spring 2026.
Glass from home
From Monday, 1 December 2025, residents have been able to place clean glass bottles of any colour or size, glass jars such as those for sauces, jams and baby food, and non-food glass bottles such as perfume, aftershave or face cream containers into their orange lidded bin.
Some glass cannot go in the orange-lidded bin. Drinking glasses, vases, glass cookware such as Pyrex or microwave plates, and window or greenhouse panes should be put in the black lidded bin or taken to the Household Waste Recycling Centre on Barkers Lane.
Cllr Nicola Gribble (Independent, Renhold and Ravensden), portfolio holder for environment, called it a “big step forward for Bedford Borough.”
She said: “Every bottle and jar that goes into the orange lidded bin helps save energy, cuts carbon and keeps valuable materials in use for longer.
“By making it easier to recycle from home, we are helping residents do even more for the environment with simple, everyday actions.”
Residents are asked to give glass bottles and jars a quick rinse, leave metal lids on and remove any corks before recycling. Corks should go in the black lidded bin.
Plastic spray tops on glass cosmetics and plastic lids on jars should be removed, but they can still be recycled separately in the orange lidded bin.
If the orange-lidded bin is full, extra recycling, including glass, can be put out in a clear sack or sturdy cardboard box next to the bin on collection day, making sure it will not blow away.
The council is asking that glass be prioritised for the orange-lidded bin and that other materials be placed in bags or boxes.
Local mini-recycling sites and bottle banks will remain in place for now and will be reviewed as kerbside glass collections become established.
Food waste collections coming
From January 2026, Bedford Borough Council will begin delivering new food waste caddies and information packs to households ahead of weekly food waste collections.
Deliveries will take place between January and March because of the number of caddies to be delivered. Residents are asked to keep their caddies somewhere safe and not use them until a week before collections begin on Monday, 30 March 2026.
Most properties with their own wheelie bins will receive a small indoor kitchen caddy and a larger 23-litre outdoor food waste bin for kerbside collections.
Some flats and communal properties will receive shared or tailored food waste containers depending on their bin arrangements.
From 30 March, all food waste collected at the kerbside will be taken to an anaerobic digestion plant in the borough, where it will be turned into green electricity and a nutrient-rich fertiliser, rather than going into black bins.
The council says the new service will help keep general waste bins cleaner and less smelly, free up space in black bins and ensure food waste is treated in a more environmentally friendly way.
To find more information about bins and recycling, Christmas collection dates and the new services, head to bedford.gov.uk/recycling.
