Posted on 12th Jun
Newark and Sherwood District Council has confirmed its plans for a new weekly kerbside food waste collection service.
Set to launch in October 2027, the council has taken another step towards making this a reality in its bid to reduce waste, protect the environment, and contribute to a greener future.
Thanks to funding from central government, the council has secured more than £1m in capital grants to invest in eight food waste collection vehicles and more than 55,000 food waste bins.
The council’s cabinet has approved the purchase of the food waste vehicles.
“I know first-hand that lots of our residents want to recycle their household food waste,” said Coun Simon Forde, portfolio holder for Climate and the Environment at the council.
“By introducing weekly collections, we’re not only meeting national requirements — we’re also helping our residents make a real difference because food waste can then get recycled positively for the environment.”
The service is part of the government’s Simpler Recycling strategy, which aims to standardise waste and recycling collections across the UK.
In addition to the vehicles, the council will also recruit 18 new team members to support the service.
“I’m delighted that we will be creating more jobs locally through the introduction of our food waste collection service, which is about making recycling easier and more effective for everyone,” added Coun Paul Peacock, council leader.
“We’re proud to be investing in a service that will benefit our communities and our environment for many years to come. Alongside collecting food waste from residential homes, we will also be collecting from all schools and businesses too, so we will be making a huge difference, supporting the bigger national picture of reducing food waste.
“While reducing food waste in the first instance is always the preferred option by carefully planned shopping and using up leftovers, it would be irresponsible to think that this alone would solve the problem.
“We know that making recycling as simple as possible is key to ensure its long-term success. We are currently looking at the very best way to operate this service to make it cost effective, simple and deliverable in the long term.
“I’m excited to see this new service come in the district in 2027 and I am certain that it will be as popular as our kerbside glass recycling service and will take us another step towards to recycling more and achieving carbon net zero.”
