Bedford Borough residents can now recycle glass bottles and jars in their orange‑lidded bins, making it easier than ever to recycle more from home and support a cleaner, greener Borough. This change follows a successful kerbside glass trial and will help increase recycling rates, cut waste going to landfill, and save valuable resources.
Residents can now place clean glass bottles of any colour or size, glass jars (for example, jars 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 items still cannot be accepted in the orange‑lidded bin - including drinking glasses, vases, glass cookware such as Pyrex or microwave plates, and window or greenhouse panes - these should go in the black bin or be taken to the Household Waste Recycling Centre on Barkers Lane.
Councillor Nicola Gribble, Portfolio Holder for Environment, said, “The launch of kerbside glass recycling on Monday, 1 December, was a big step forward for Bedford Borough. 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 reminded to give glass bottles and jars a quick rinse, leave metal lids on, and remove any corks before recycling. Corks will go in the black-lidded bin. Any plastic spray tops on glass cosmetics, such as perfume, or plastic lids on glass jars, should be removed, but can still go in the orange-lidded bin separately. If the orange‑lidded bin is full, extra recycling, including glass, can be placed out in a clear sack or sturdy cardboard box next to the bin on collection day, making sure it will not blow away in the wind. The team asks that glass be prioritised for the orange-lidded bin and that other material be placed in the bags or cardboard boxes.
Local mini-recycling sites and bottle banks will remain available for additional glass, these will be reviewed over time as kerbside collections become established.
From January 2026, Bedford Borough Council will begin delivering new food waste caddies and information packs to households ahead of the start of weekly food waste collections. Deliveries will take place across the borough between January and March, due to the number of caddies requiring delivery. Residents are asked to keep their caddies somewhere safe and not to 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, while some flats and communal properties will receive shared or tailored food waste containers depending on their arrangements.
All food waste collected from 30 March will be taken to an anaerobic digestion plant in the Borough, where it will be turned into green electricity and a nutrient‑rich fertiliser instead of going into black bins. This will help keep general waste bins cleaner and less smelly, free up space in black bins, and treat food waste in a more environmentally friendly way.
Residents can find out more about bins and recycling, Christmas bin collection dates and more at: www.bedford.gov.uk/recycling