Weekly food waste collection 'not achievable' by April says cash-strapped Shropshire Council

The Simpler Recycling Legislation, which came into effect in March 2025, includes the requirement that all households have a weekly food waste collection from March 31 this year.

But Shropshire Council said it is unlikely to meet the target, due to uncertainty over the funding required to deliver the service and the increased lead time for the new lorries and bins needed.

A report to the council’s economy and environment overview and scrutiny committee on January 29 will update members on the progress made towards introducing the new service, and related financial and other challenges.

Councillors will be asked to consider a range of options that would enable the council to implement a weekly food waste collection in the most cost-effective and efficient way.

David Vasmer, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for waste management, said: “Providing weekly food waste collections to all households in Shropshire from April 2026 does not appear to be achievable.

“The Government has let us down by withdrawing ring-fenced revenue funding for food waste at the last minute. Instead, they have lumped the funding into the recently announced overall settlement for Shropshire which is being cut.

“Since 2023 council officers have worked closely with both Defra [the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] and our waste contractor Veolia to find the most cost-effective weekly food waste service.

“In our dialogue with Defra we have raised concerns about the mechanism and amount of revenue to operate the service in the long term. We were told that this would be covered by funding that could only be spent on the collection of food waste.

“Separate funds have been provided for the purchase of vehicles and bins and some transitional funding for delivery, communication and project management. However, the recent Government financial settlement failed to provide any revenue funding for a weekly food waste service. 

"To start the service from April this year would place a significant financial risk on the council at a time when it already faces unprecedented financial pressure on existing services.

“Like many Shropshire residents, I am very keen to have a weekly food recycling scheme but if no additional funding from the Government is received, we need to consider alternative options – and these are outlined in the report to scrutiny.”

Councillors will be asked to consider several options for a food waste collection service: to do nothing, to introduce a fortnightly collection collected in existing garden waste vehicles, or to introduce a weekly collection alternating between garden waste vehicles and separate food waste-only vehicles.

Councillor Ed Potter, chairman of the economy and environment scrutiny committee, said: “The committee is pleased to look at proposals for a weekly food waste collection in Shropshire ahead of cabinet making a decision. 

"In a large rural county such as Shropshire implementing such a scheme is always going to be challenging particularly if there are financial constraints associated with the changes. 

"I hope the committee will be able to make some meaningful recommendations to cabinet following our meeting this week.”