Agenda item

The report will follow in a supplementary pack for this meeting after it has been published for the meeting of Executive Committee (due for publication on Monday 6 January).

The report concerning the introduction of a food waste collection service was presented. It was noted that the Government had set a new statutory duty under the Environment Act 2021 to introduce a dedicated separate weekly collection of food waste from all households by 31^st March 2026.

Confirmation had not yet been provided on the new burdens funding that would be made available by the Government to the authority to help cover the costs of delivering this service. Following modelling, the indicative cost of operating a food waste collection service across Redditch was anticipated to be at just over £500,000 (not including additional expenditure on infrastructure). It was recommended that the Council allocate £500,000 revenue funding as an operational budget from 2026/27 financial year to ensure the cover of operational costs.

It was noted that the Council was due to receive more information on transitional funding for the food waste service within the next months. It was added that the Council recently had confirmation that it would receive £814,000 of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) funding. As this funding was not ringfenced, it was suggested that this could be utilised should there be a shortfall to operate the food waste service. In response to a Member question, it was noted that the receipt of EPR funding would be unrelated to timings for when the Council had to invest in the service, therefore, the Council had to have funds to cover these costs upfront.

At a local level, there were space issues at the depot in relation to accommodating vehicles for the delivery of a food waste collection service. These vehicles could not be accommodated alongside the existing fleet. Officers had concluded that it would not be viable to purchase more land to accommodate the additional vehicles, so this was not considered to be a suitable option for the Council at this time.

Taking into account existing pressures and uncertainties, Officers were proposing that the Council should procure the food waste collection service through a private sector company. Ideally, the Council would have aimed to deliver the service inhouse, but this was not considered to be feasible at this stage. The proposal was to procure the service for a period of up to eight years.

To maximise interest in this opportunity within the private sector, Redditch Borough Council would aim to procure this service jointly with Bromsgrove District Council and Wyre Forest District Council. There was no guarantee that the procurement exercise would be successful. However, if the procurement process was unsuccessful, the Council could report back to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) highlighting the issues that had been experienced and a request could then be submitted to extend the deadline for the introduction of the service in the Borough.

Following the presentation of the report, Members discussed the following matters in detail:

• The forthcoming deadline, in spring 2026, for Councils to introduce a food waste collection service and the implications of possible non-compliance. Members were advised that as long as the Council had a clear plan in place the authority would likely not be seen as failing in terms of compliance.
• The extent to which the Council would be able to meet the Government’s deadline to introduce the food waste collection service if this was not outsourced to the private sector. Officers confirmed that the Council was unlikely to meet the deadline if a decision was taken to deliver this service inhouse at this stage.
• The reasons why the Council had opted for an eight-year length for the proposed contract. Members were advised that this would help to affray the financial costs involved. For a shorter contract, a private sector company was likely to require the same financial investment from the authority but over a shorter period of time and this could be difficult for the Council to manage. In addition, it was highlighted that a typical lifespan of food collection vehicles was eight years.
• The procurement of caddies for the food waste service. It was noted that options were being considered in terms of whether the cost of procuring the caddies should be incorporated into the contract with the third party provider or purchased by the Council directly. It was proposed that each household should receive two caddies, one kitchen caddie for residents to put their food waste into, and a second large caddy to put out by the curbside on food waste collection days. It was currently uncertain whether bin liners would be provided inside the caddy.
• Frequency of household waste collections under the new regulations. An example of Stratford District Council was provided which had weekly food waste collection, fortnightly recycling and garden waste (paid) collections, and a three-weekly black bin collection. At Stratford, there was an app developed to assist residents with understanding on which days they needed to put which bins out for collection. It was stated that this report was only concerned with introduction of food waste service and once the Council had increased the range of waste collections, it would be looking to provide an app to assist residents.

The recommendations as set out in the report were endorsed for onward recommendation to the Executive Committee.

RECOMMENDED that

1)    Subject to the outcome of negotiations, the introduction of a joint Food Waste Collection Service be approved, working with Bromsgrove District Council and Wyre Forest District Council to deliver the authority’s statutory duties under the Environment Act 2021 regarding a Food Waste Collection service;

2)    Delegated authority be granted to the Assistant Director of Environmental and Housing Property Services following consultation with the Section 151 Officer, the Principal Solicitor (Contracts, Commercial and Procurement) and the Portfolio Holders for Finance and Environmental Services respectively, subject to the agreement of recommendations 1 and 3, to:

a)    negotiate and agree terms with Bromsgrove District Council and Wyre Forest District Council to enter into a joint tender for a shared food waste collection service;

b)    tender and award a dedicated weekly food waste collection service through a third party for a period of 8 years commencing no later than 31 March 2026.

3)    The Council allocate £500,000 Revenue Funding in the Medium-Term Financial Plan as an operational budget from 2026/27 to fund the Food Waste Collection Service in the Borough, as accounted for within tranche 1 of the budget.