Revealed: North Yorkshire among 'one in four English councils' unable to introduce weekly food waste collections
North Yorkshire Council is among the one in four English councils expected to miss the Government’s start date for bringing weekly food waste collections to all homes.
Under the Simpler Recycling reforms, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) had said that “every household in England” would receive a weekly food waste collection from March 31.
But the BBC is reporting that it has been told by more than 70 councils that will be unable to meet not meet that deadline.
Councils blame the delay on demand for new specialist vehicles, as well as issues with funding despite being allocated more than £340 million in grants from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
But the issue is not simply one of funding or a matter of political will; it’s a reflection of the existing ‘postcode lottery' for rubbish.
Some local authorities have had weekly food waste collections in place for more than a decade.
But many are having to start from scratch, which involves the introduction of new vehicles to handle food waste, as well as new bins.
North Yorkshire Council currently offers free food waste disposal for households at all Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) at sites across the county, including Harrogate, Northallerton, Ripon, Selby, and Skipton.
The council has already said that it will not be meeting the Government’s deadline for food waste collections for all households.
It is working to align with national recycling strategies, which include bringing in more standardized weekly food waste collections.
That is only one part of its broader strategy to harmonise the county’s waste services following local government reorganisation in 2023.
In its drive for efficiency, it is not expected to launch a weekly food waste collection for every North Yorkshire household until 2027 at the earliest.
Government minister Mary Creagh said councils had had a "significant uplift in this year's budget" to help "make this policy a success".
"Do it slowly, do it right but let's get on with it," she said.
"We have been stagnating at these very low recycling rates for far too long."