For the first time in some twenty years, English local authorities have a clear legislative driver to address household organic waste. Following the 2003 LATS scheme, drivers for organic waste recycling at a national level have been absent. That policy vacuum has now been ended by strategy and legislation that will see all households across England offered a weekly collection service for source separated food waste.
Confirmation of this policy requirement has been some time in the making. Proposals first emerged in December 2018 with the publication of the Resources and Waste Strategy for England which were then legislated for through the Environment Act in 2021. The legislative requirement has however only recently come into force following the Simpler Recycling announcement of October 2023, which confirmed March 2026 as the date for all authorities to have food waste recycling services in place.
The Simpler Recycling announcement confirmed the Environment Act provisions for food waste recycling:
- Food waste collections must be separate to other waste streams.
- Food waste collections must be provided to all residential properties.
- The frequency of food waste collections must be at least weekly.
The 2026 implementation date for food waste recycling may feel distant. As front-line service managers will appreciate, the introduction of any new authority wide recycling scheme requires detailed of planning across a range of areas, each of which must be coordinated, to ensure an efficient and successful service.
This range of activity includes understanding the specifics of food waste collection, designing a service that meets authority specific demographics and needs, contracting treatment options, and preparation of a lunch and communications strategy.
The WRM guide to designing and implementing food waste collection services introduces local authority food waste collections. It draws on our experience of working with local authority customers to highlights the activities that will need to be undertaken ahead of March 2026 and discusses some of the key considerations.
We hope that you find this introductory guide useful. The WRM team has a wealth of knowledge and expertise that we share though our involvement in industry groups such as LARAC. We are always willing to speak on a no obligation basis to waste managers who are looking to find out more, so please do contact our team with any questions you have.
Download the full guide below.