Agenda item

Council considered a report presented by the Portfolio Holder for Environment relating to the Weekly Food Waste Collection Service. 

The Council had a statutory duty to provide a separate weekly food waste collection from all domestic household from 1^st April 2026.  From this date, food waste had to be collected separately from waste collected in black (residual), burgundy (dry mixed recycling) and green (garden) bins.  The Council’s Waste and Recycling Collection had been updated in readiness for this change and was appended at Appendix A after consultation with Customer Services Scrutiny Committee on 19^th August 2025.

Capital funding amounting to £699,908 had been awarded to the Council by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for the purchase of food waste containers and collection vehicles.  This funding was found to be insufficient to purchase the number of vehicles needed.  At Council on 22^nd May 2024 the Defra funding was accepted but an additional £321,500 of capital funding from the Council’s budget was approved. 

During 2024/25 the Council received notice from Defra of an award of revenue transitional funding of £265,077.21 for the implementation of weekly food waste collection.  It was anticipated that this revenue transitional resource grant would be a one off.

It had been anticipated that a further Government New Burdens funding would be available to meet the future costs of the ongoing weekly food waste collection service. However, recent Defra correspondence received in September 2025 advised that this funding for the food waste collection service would be included in Spending Review 2025 to reflect the Government’s wider commitment in its Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation. The results of the review were not expected to be announced until the week commencing 15^th December 2025. 

Due to the uncertainty surrounding Government funding full details of the new expenditure requirements were not available at this time resulting in a request to Council to fund just 10 permanent full time porter posts (at grade 4) at a cost of £380,383 per annum.  It was likely that this ongoing cost would be met from the Government’s Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme payments.  This would enable the Council to get this service ready to operate by 1^st April 2026. 

Another decision would be needed to recruit further staff to deliver the service as outlined in paragraph 1.7 of the report once the full extent of Government funding was known.  Delegated authority was sought for the Chief Executive in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for the Environment to commence the  recruitment process early in the New Year.

The following additional information was provided in response to questions:

·       Defra had not provided grant funding for the use of bags in the food waste caddies.  Derbyshire County Council as the Waste Disposal Authority had through its procurement of food waste disposal included bag extraction as part of this service.

·       Information guidance leaflets would be included when the bins were delivered and there was an ongoing campaign articles included in the Council’s In Touch magazine and on social media etc. 

·       The aim was for a 65% usage across the District of the weekly service with the national average being 55%.

Moved by Councillor Hiney-Saunders and seconded by Councillor Munro

RESOLVED (1) to approve the establishment of 10 new full-time, permanent

          positions on grade 4, to undertake the new weekly food waste collection service at a cost of £380,383 per annum (subject to the usual Local Government pay awards);

(2) that approval be given for a budget of £164,500 for 2025/26 to meet the costs of employing the 10 staff to undertake the delivery of food waste collection caddies along with promotional materials; and undertake training and familiarisation with the new service arrangements from mid-January 2026;

(3) that approval be given to update the Waste and Recycling Collection Policy to reflect the inclusion of a separate weekly food waste collection service as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report; and

(4) that delegated authority be given to the Chief Executive Officer in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for the Environment, the decision to approve the establishment of 10 additional full-time permanent positions consisting of 3 porters (Grade 4) and 7 drivers (Grade 5) to undertake the weekly food collection service.