NEW weekly food waste collections look set to begin in Rugby – but not until 2026.
Rugby Borough Council (RBC) is preparing to launch the new service to meet the government’s Simpler Recycling requirements, if plans are approved later this month.
RBC’s Cabinet has recommended the full Council authorises spending on new waste collection trucks and food caddies – but they could take up to a year to arrive once ordered.
The new weekly service, which will come at no extra charge, aims to make it easy for residents to recycle their food waste and remove smelly waste from black wheelie bins.
Food waste will be turned into electricity by capturing the gases released from decomposition, with the leftover residue turned into fertiliser.
Residents will be given a small kitchen caddy for food waste, and a larger external food waste bin with a lockable lid to keep outside.
Depending on vehicle and caddy delivery, the service will launch in April 2026, in line with the government’s requirement that councils offer a weekly food waste collection service by that date.
Some, but not all, of the costs of vehicles and caddies will be offset by ‘new burdens’ funding from the government.
If the plan is approved, the council will begin the purchasing process to buy ten food waste collection vehicles, along with kitchen caddies and food waste bins for all households.
Coun Alison Livesey, the council’s spokeswoman for operations and traded services, said: “With many councils preparing to start food waste collections, we are expecting long waiting times for suitable vehicles and caddies, so now is the time to prepare to introduce the service.
“The new service will help residents increase their recycling and reduce waste, and in many cases allow them to recycle their food waste for the first time. All of this will help us to lower our carbon footprint and contribute to our Corporate Strategy objective of creating a Greener Rugby.
“Introducing the weekly food waste collection will be an important step towards making Rugby more sustainable and reduce harmful greenhouse gases.”
Her Liberal Democrat counterpart Coun Sam Edwards added: “Currently, food that is discarded into landfills generates methane – a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide.
“Recycling food waste will reduce the impact of this harmful gas on the climate – and will also make us more conscious of the food we are throwing into the bin.”
UK households waste 6.5million tonnes of food every year – 4.5million of which is edible. In Rugby, around 43 per cent of household waste is currently recycled – but this could rise nearer the government’s target of 65 per cent by 2035 if the food waste collection service goes ahead.
The proposal is expected to be considered by the council in a meeting on December 11.
