AIBU not to use the food waste bin?

[MRex]

We put veg cuttings in the garden bin (onion skin, end of lettuce, any manky bits), any bits of bread or leftover cooked veg out for the birds. A few grains of rice or whatever left on the plate would just stick inside the food bin. We serve almost everything at the table rather than dishing out in advance so we take what we need and can store leftovers in the fridge or freezer and are good at using them all up eventually (slow cooker meat might end up in a wrap with salad, leftover omelette or pancake slices defrosted for DS snacks while out etc). We get chicken breast and sometimes steak so there's a tiny amount of fat, which most weeks would be the only thing I could think to put in the food bin and I'm not entertaining the foxes for the sake of ~10g of chicken fat that would probably be stuck to the bin or left behind as the binmen assume it's "empty".

I've seen various recycling messages making a big deal out of food waste and I just don't get it because I can't think of what could go in the food bin. It can't be about food at the dump because the smell of food on non-recyclable bits of packaging would still attract rats and whatever. All I can think is that some people have lots of excess food wastage, but then shouldn't they just be more careful about the food dates and how much they cook / how they serve?

Obviously IABU to judge, so enlighten me please, what do you put in your food waste bin? Why are we unreasonable (if we are) by not using ours for those bits of chicken fat?

5 bins is a bit crazy because 4 are duplicated in the house. We have General, Paper/Cardboard, Plastics/Glass (2 boxes, DH refuses to upgrade to another wheelie), Garden (huge), Food (small).
Inside the house we use the plastics boxes, separate bins for Paper/Cardboard, General and Food (previously veg only to go to the garden bin, getting its new compostable bags today). Then small bins around the house are mostly general waste but an extra paper bin in the office.
Our old house didn't separate paper from plastics in recycle sacks and we didn't use the food bin, so we were a super streamlined 2 bins inside, one general plus recycle bags outside. My idiot old neighbour used to put chicken bones in the recycle bags so the foxes would drag rubbish all over the road. Every bloody week for years. It still makes me feel cross to think about it now.

OP every council is going to be different
ours doesn't collect food waste but we have our own compost bins in the garden
sounds like like you are being sensible enough but you must remember not everybody is going to be the same as you so i'm glad that the opportunity exists in your area even if you don't need to take it up.
With regards to the small amount of waste you do produce you could use a paper bag inside the caddy which would mean that the small amount doesn't stick to the sides and your caddy will definitely be emptied.

I use the food bin a lot. I use the caddy bags and put the full bags in the garden waste wheelie bin. We also put pizza boxes in that wheelie bin

There's no composting at work so I bring home my compostables. Today I brought home...

1 avocado skins & seed.
1 banana skin
2 tangerine rinds
4 tea bags.

What would OP do with all those. I can't quite figure out.

I dont as it goes against what ive learnt about hygiene. Especially in Summer months.

We have to now, we get fined if we don’t

We have a green bin for food and garden waste which has maggots in summer as only collected once a month.... we get fined if we use biodegradable caddy bags. I’m not sure what we are supposed to do to keep it fairly hygienic

@lljkk - first 3 go into the garden waste bin, they're no different to any other fruit. Some types of teabags I've learned need need to have leaves taken out of the bag before garden bin and others not; I think I've made 5 cups of tea all year for other people so we're not at high levels.

YANBU, it sounds like with your setup you have little to go in it.

We put a lot in ours as we don't have a green waste bin (they are £60 a year, and we don't create enough garden waste to justify and live near to the tip) and even if we did, our area specifies garden waste only.

We rarely 'waste' food, but as we don't compost (used to, but it never worked very well and we didn't really use it) there's always plenty to go in it, a few examples: fruit bits (such as apple cores, banana skins, pineapple stalk/skin/core, mango skin/stone), veg peelings and stalks/leaves, egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds, fat from meat, plate scrapings (usually not much), food the cat has rejected!!

Food waste is biodegradable - general waste is not, so, if you put food waste in the general waste it massively increases the volume (and stink) of landfill..

Food waste is a massive problem so I try to do my bit, even though I live alone & my waste is minimal.