Bins and recycling
Cabinet to decide on provision of food waste collection
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Cabinet members will discuss the delivery of weekly food waste collections in Walsall at a meeting on Wednesday 16 April.
Through the Environment Act 2021, local authorities are required to introduce weekly food waste collections from all households by March 31, 2026.
Two delivery options will be presented at cabinet, with option one seeing separate weekly food waste collections and option two proposing weekly collections of mixed food and garden waste.
Separate weekly collections of food waste would see residents issued with a small kitchen caddy for daily use and a larger kerbside caddy that is presented weekly for collection.
Weekly collections of mixed food and garden waste would see brown bins collected weekly, rather than fortnightly, throughout the year.
“ Food waste makes up a huge part of what we currently send to landfill.
Analysis carried out found that food waste made up around 40 per cent of the total, accumulating to around 28,500 tonnes.
Of this food waste, 75 per cent was avoidable, with 28 per cent of all discarded food still in its original packaging.
Depending on resident participation, food waste collections could remove between 6,000 to 10,000 tonnes from the waste we send to landfill. “
In August 2024, WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme), provided an assessment of the two options, including a cost comparison. The annual baseline revenue cost of the kerbside refuse collection in Walsall (grey, green and brown bins), including disposal, is £10.7m.
Under this assessment, the net costs for separate weekly food waste collections would cost an additional £1.9m per annum. The net cost of weekly collections of mixed food and garden waste will cost an additional £2.9m per annum.
Subject to the cabinet's decision on the preferred option, the next steps will see the procurement of required containers, vehicles and additional waste disposal arrangements.
This Cabinet meeting takes place on Wednesday, April 16, starting at 6pm.
Details about how the public can access the meeting and associated papers can be found at: https://cmispublic.walsall.gov.uk/cmis/Meetings/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/mid/397/Meeting/3938/Committee/514/Default.aspx
To view the meeting online, visit: http://www.walsallcouncilwebcasts.com/
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