Households across Herefordshire and Worcestershire face a wait for new food waste collections after several local councils confirmed they will miss the April 2026 deadline set by law for weekly collections in England. Wychavon District Council has written to ministers to say it will not be ready until April 2028, pointing to its existing refuse contract and uncertainty over government funding. Worcester City Council puts its start date at Spring 2027. Malvern Hills and Herefordshire councils are holding off on committing to any date until government funding is confirmed.
All councils in the two counties currently collect black waste bins and green recycling bins on alternate weeks. The new service would add a separate bin or caddy, with material sent to an anaerobic digester rather than an incinerator. Bromsgrove, Redditch and Wyre Forest are in talks to launch a joint service as close to April 2026 as possible, subject to new vehicles and caddies being available.
A Green city councillor in Worcester described the delays as "very frustrating", according to the BBC, noting that food waste accounts for around 35% of the average black bin.
Source: BBC News