The Environment Act 2021 (EA) requires local authorities to collect recyclable waste streams and to arrange for the separate collection of a consistent set of recyclable waste streams. As part of the government’s Simpler Recycling policy, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has extended local authorities’ obligations further under the EA by mandating weekly food waste collections from all households in England from 31 March 2026 onwards.
It was expected that increased food waste collection would ensure more food waste could be diverted from landfill, to alternative options such as anaerobic digestion sites, in line with the UK’s commitment to working towards sending no food wate to landfill by 2030. The government has published non-statutory guidance for local authorities, which covers factors to consider in terms of existing and new obligations, along with a number of impact assessments of the final policy proposals on Simpler Recycling.
Despite this, it is expected that more than a quarter of councils are set to miss the upcoming March deadline.
Many councils have reported delays and difficulties in obtaining necessary equipment required to deliver the weekly collection service (bins, staff etc), and have suggested there are delays in sourcing specialist collection lorries due to shortages in market availability. Therefore, resourcing requirements will require review and adaptation to meet the demands of a weekly service.
While the government has reportedly provided capital funding of over £340 million in grants to implement the scheme, councils are suggesting that running a weekly service requires financial backing that many councils do not have.
Many councils will have already entered long-term waste collection contracts, so these changes could bring with them significant logistical and financial complications.
DEFRA, in its final impact report, acknowledged that some local authorities have long term waste collection and disposal contracts, running beyond the March deadline, which may be affected by the separate food waste collection, such as Energy from Waste (EfW) or Mechanical Biological Treatment contracts.
Nevertheless, the government has made a concession, whereby some councils may delay their start date if a transitional arrangement applies. For instance, where long-term waste contracts are in place, implementing the weekly service may not be practicable or feasible, such that a longer implementation period may be allowed. This should prevent councils from breaching long-term contracts that run beyond March 2026 (and from exposure to the associated cost implications of any such breach), but it does mean some councils are unlikely to meet the deadline for introducing weekly collections.
A further consideration for councils with long-term EfW contracts is, as a result of additional food waste recycling, whether the composition and/or tonnage of waste sent for incineration is affected (and therefore throughputs), possibly reducing the amount of waste a plant can burn. The risk here is that, whether directly or indirectly, councils could face additional considerations and potentially costs in terms of EfW contracts if, for example, they contain a minimum tonnage clause. This is why considering DEFRA’s transitional arrangements will be essential in order to mitigate any issues.
Councils and contractors may therefore wish to consider the following:
For further information or if you have any queries in relation to the topics in our article, please contact our energy and resource management team.
