Rutland County Council leader Gale Waller writes about the upcoming introduction of kerbside food waste collections

Much of what we do in Local Government results from the introduction of, or changes to, national legislation, writes the leader of Rutland County Council Gale Waller (Lib Dem).

The Environment Act 2021, which received Royal Assent in November that year, is now being implemented. There is often a delay between enactment and implementation, hence only starting to put the Act’s requirements in place now.

Provisions in this act are good for the environment but a challenge for local authorities who must implement it. Briefly, the Environment Act regulates nature protection, water quality, clean air and waste reduction. Regarding waste reduction, the intentions of the new regulations are to drive up recycling rates across England. From a local authority perspective, the main challenges are those required through the Government’s ‘Simple Recycling’ announcement,made in October 2023.

Through this announcement,the Government aimed to make it easier for households and businesses to recycle by introducing a consistent approach to waste collections across the country. As part of these plans, all local authorities in England must collect the same recyclable materials. Rutland County Council already collects the required dry recyclable waste streams (paper and card, plastic, glass and metal) so no changes are required. We are also allowed to continue to collect dry recyclable materials together, so households in Rutland won’t have to separate card, cans, bottles etc. and dispose of these in separate bins, which we initially thought might be the case.

However, by March 31, 2026, we will also be required to introduce separate weekly kerbside food waste collections. Residents will be provided with a caddy to place in the kitchen to collect all food waste, whether human or pet food, and all biodegradable materials resulting from processing or preparation of food (including inedible food parts such as bones, eggshells, fruit and vegetable skins, tea bags and coffee grounds). The caddy would then be emptied into a larger container for collection.

Currently in Rutland,more than 40% of the residual waste we collect from homes (the black bin) is food waste. There will always be some food waste but much of what’s thrown away tends to be food that could have been used. Leftovers can often be made into other dishes.My mother used the leftover Sunday joint to make a stew, a shepherd’s pie and sandwiches during the week and nowadays life is much easier as we have freezers.

Wasting food is also costly. As a council, we must pay to dispose of the contents of black bins, which is therefore a cost to all council taxpayers. Food waste is costly to the individuals who’ve thrown it away, having paid for it in the first place. It is also costly to the environment, as waste must be disposed of somewhere.

The introduction of a food waste collection service will be an extra cost to Rutland County Council and whilst the Government will give the council some money, for example to purchase the food caddies and the vehicles needed to collect the waste, the grant will not cover the full cost of operating the service, so we are currently looking at options to manage costs.

Meanwhile, you can do your bit. Think about the food you are throwing out. If you have a garden, can you home compost any of your food waste? Can you freeze or re-use your leftovers? Can you improve your meal planning, so you buy less in the first place? Using more of what you buy helps your wallet and the environment.