Preparations underway for weekly food waste collection service

A meeting of the council’s Cabinet being held on 2 December will be asked to recommend that the full Council authorises spending on new waste collection trucks and food caddies, which could take up to a year to arrive once ordered.

The new weekly service, which will be free to households at the point of use, aims to make it easy for residents to recycle their food waste and remove smelly waste from black refuse bins. Food waste collected 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 that they can use to collect food waste as they prepare and clear up meals, and a larger external food waste bin with 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 of the capital costs of the vehicles and caddies will be offset by “new burdens” funding from the government, but councillors will hear that the funding available does not meet all of the costs of the service.

If 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.

Cllr Alison Livesey, Rugby Borough Council portfolio holder 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.”

Cllr Sam Edwards, Rugby Borough Council Liberal Democrat spokesperson for operations and traded services, said: “Recycling food waste in Rugby is an important opportunity for us to get on the front foot in tackling climate change.

"Currently food that is discarded into landfills is not just lost. Discarded meals generate 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 6.5 million tonnes of food every year, 4.5 million of which is edible. In Rugby, about 43 per cent of household waste is currently recycled, while offering a food waste collection service could see recycling rates rise nearer the government’s target of 65 per cent by 2035.

If approved, the recommendation is expected to be considered by the meeting of the Council to be held on 11 December 2024.