Agenda item

The Committee considered a report on Food Waste Collections Implementation. The report set out the proposed way forward for the introduction of a weekly domestic food waste collection service within Redditch.

Members were advised that the requirement to introduce a separate food waste collection service had been established under the Environment Act 2021, with a statutory deadline of March 2026 to introduce the service. As the service had not yet been introduced, the Council was not currently compliant with the statutory duty. However, officers explained that Redditch was not alone in this position, as no local authorities in Worcestershire were yet compliant and a significant proportion of authorities nationally were also not yet meeting the requirement.

The Committee was informed that the Council had previously sought to procure an external contractor to provide the service jointly for Redditch Borough Council together with Bromsgrove District Council and Wyre Forest District Council. This approach had been pursued because the Council did not have sufficient land to operate a full food waste collection service. Outsourcing had also been considered a way to manage risk, given that the Council had a duty to provide the service, but the level of take up by residents was unknown.

Officers explained that central Government had provided capital funding to support implementation, including the purchase of vehicles and food waste caddies. However, no clear additional ongoing revenue funding had been confirmed to cover the ongoing cost of the service. Also, no specific allocation for food waste collections had been identified within the Local Government Finance Settlement. Members were advised that £500,000 had therefore been allocated in the Medium Term Financial Plan to cover a significant proportion of the revenue costs, although further funding would be required to enable the provision of the service to all households.

The Committee was advised that officers were proposing to implement the service in phases. The first phase would cover approximately half of households in Redditch and was expected to begin in late January or early February 2027, following delivery of the vehicles in December 2026 and after the high-pressure Christmas waste collection period. Officers explained that this approach would allow the service to be introduced carefully, monitored and expanded once operational arrangements were working effectively.

It was highlighted that a number of local authorities, including Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (DMBC), that had implemented their services on a Borough-wide basis from the outset, had subsequently experienced significant operational difficulties. Members were advised that the phased rollout was intended to mitigate these risks and avoid disruption to existing recycling services.

Members were informed that the principal operational challenge related to the availability of land from which to operate the service. Officers were in negotiations with the private sector regarding the sites that the Council could lease. The proposal was for Redditch Borough Council and Bromsgrove District Council to operate from a shared site, which would reduce costs and provide greater resilience through shared staffing and vehicle arrangements.

The Committee was advised that the report sought authority to the Assistant Director for Regeneration and Property to negotiate and finalise the terms of the lease for land identified to operate food waste collections from. Members were informed that the proposed lease arrangements were based on a five-year lease with a three-year break clause, which would provide operational security in the context of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and adapt if any public sites become available within the timescale.

Members noted that the report asked for additional ongoing revenue funding of £376,000, which would be required to extend the service to all households. Officers explained that this funding was not being requested for immediate approval but needed to be considered as part of the budget process for release at some point so that the Council could move towards full compliance with its statutory duty.

The report also asked Members to note the fact that currently the Council was not complying with its statutory duty with regard to the food waste service, and highlight that this presented a risk of a judicial review, although the Council had kept the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) fully updated on the steps the Council had been taking to implement the food waste service, and the Government had confirmed they were not looking to take action against authorities that were not yet compliant. There remained a risk of third parties launching a judicial review, however.

In response to questions, Officers confirmed that the first phase of the service would run for a few weeks from late January/February 2027. Then the Council would look to expand the service for a second stage, to be funded from existing resources. The full rollout would then be planned to commence from 2027/28 financial year, subject to additional funding being allocated for that financial year. Final decisions had not yet been made on which areas would receive the service first, but officers intended to prioritise areas which had high recycling rates so that early successes could be used to encourage take-up in other areas. In areas with more complex housing profile, such as flats and Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), the service was expected to be launched later as more tailored engagement would be required.

Members discussed the use of caddy liners. Officers explained that food waste caddy liners had been shown elsewhere to improve participation because they reduced concerns about smell and cleaning of the caddies. It was proposed that households would receive an initial roll of liners and that further liners would be supplied to households who were using the service (putting their food waste bin out for collection), with controls in place to monitor use. The expected cost of caddy liners for the first phase was approximately £8,000, with ongoing annual costs for Redditch estimated at between £5,000 and £6,000 depending on take-up.

Members queried the use of plastic liners. Officers explained that the food waste would be sent to an anaerobic digestion facility and that the operator’s preference was for plastic polymer liners rather than compostable liners. This was because compostable liners could interfere with the anaerobic digestion process also as they were harder to separate once they became wet. Officers acknowledged that the use of plastic liners might appear counterintuitive in terms of reduction to plastic waste but explained that this was considered the most effective operational approach for the receiving facility.

In response to questions about disposal capacity, officers explained that Worcestershire County Council, as the Waste Disposal Authority, was responsible for arranging where collected waste would be processed. Discussions had taken place with the chosen anaerobic digestion facility and the agreement was expected to be finalised before the service was due to be launched in Redditch.

Members asked whether use of the food waste service would be compulsory. Officers advised that households and businesses had a general duty to manage waste responsibly, but that the Council’s approach would initially focus on education and engagement rather than enforcement. Additional funding from Extended Producer Responsibility arrangements would support waste education and engagement, including work to improve participation in both dry recycling and food waste services.

The Committee also discussed what types of waste would be accepted. Officers explained that the service would be for food waste only, such as plate scrapings, vegetable peelings, leftovers and food that had not been eaten. Residents would be encouraged to separate food from packaging. Members were advised that a previous waste composition analysis had indicated that around 30 per cent of residual waste collected in grey (non-recyclable waste) bins was food waste, highlighting the potential scale of environmental benefits of the service.

Members asked about the specification of the food waste vehicles. Officers confirmed that the vehicles had been ordered from Dennis Eagle and were designed specifically for food waste collections. The vehicles would be sealed due to the high moisture content of food waste and were considered suitable for the service. Officers also advised that electric vehicles were not currently considered viable for this type of operation, although the Council was currently using a mix of diesel and hydrogenated vegetable oil to reduce carbon emissions from its fleet.

Members asked about the position of Wyre Forest District Council (WFDC). The Committee was advised that Redditch Borough Council and Bromsgrove District Council had been working together to develop a joint service. A joint procurement exercise had initially been undertaken with Wyre Forest District Council because of limited depot capacity across the area and the intention to use a third-party provider to support delivery and share risk. However, following changes to the funding position, WFDC had withdrawn from the procurement process, meaning that the original proposal could not proceed. A more recent update suggested that WFDC was beginning to undertake preparatory work to introduce the food waste service, although it was likely to be at least twelve months behind Redditch because of the lead-in time for the vehicles.

Following the consideration of the report, the report recommendations were endorsed as printed in the report.

The Committee:

NOTED the progress made on food waste collection implementation.

RECOMMENDED that

1)    authority be granted to the Assistant Director for Regeneration and Property Services to negotiate and finalise the terms of the lease for land identified to operate food waste collections from.

2)    an allocation of additional ongoing revenue of £376,311 for the expansion of the food waste collection service from 2027/28 is considered as part of the Medium-Term Financial Plan, with any decision deferred until the full financial implications are assessed alongside wider funding priorities through the budget process.