Councils granted more time to start food waste collections

Three Lancashire councils have been granted significantly more time to start dedicated household food waste collections – while two others have been unable to confirm whether they will meet the deadline for doing so.

All local authorities with waste collection responsibilities are required to start separate weekly pick-ups of leftover, unwanted and out-of-date food from 31st March.

Householders will be asked to put their food waste in a small ‘caddy’ that they will be supplied with to store in the kitchen, before emptying it into a larger outdoor bin to be collected by refuse workers.

The government announced the major service change two years ago, demanding councils make the necessary preparations in time for what was intended to be a fixed deadline, unless existing waste disposal contracts prevented it being met.

However, some have since been permitted to enter into “transitional arrangements”, because they were going to be unable to start the collections on time.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) asked all 14 Lancashire authorities when their food waste service would begin.

Ribble Valley Borough Council said it would not be collecting separate food waste until October, with Fylde saying it would also be doing so from “the autumn”.

Both told the LDRS that they had experienced delays in obtaining the new vehicles needed to deliver the service.

Blackburn with Darwen Council said it would be starting collection from 1st June, having been one of the authorities allowed a longer timeframe because of its current waste disposal contract.  However, the authority has already been making food waste collections from more than 9,200 households in the borough since April 2025 as part of a pilot scheme – and almost 1,500 more will be added to the number next month.

Meanwhile, Chorley and South Ribble councils did not say, when approached, whether they would be starting food waste collections in their areas by the end of the March – although neither has previously indicated there would be a problem in doing so.

Most authorities have indicated – either directly to the LDRS or via messages on their websites – that they would be beginning to collect food waste separately from the start of April.

Only Lancaster City Council is getting started ahead of the government deadline – with collections in the district due to start in February.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told the LDRS:  “We have invested over £340 million to support councils on weekly food collections. While local authorities will have the flexibility to deliver these reforms in the best way for their council areas and residents, we still expect them to take all reasonable steps to meet their statutory obligations.

“This government will introduce a streamlined approach to recycling to end the postcode lottery, simplify bin collections and clean up our streets for good.

“These reforms are estimated to cut the net cost for waste management by over £200 million by 2035.”