Food waste collection to hit council budgets in East of England

New measures on food waste collections are set to cost councils far more than what is being offered by the government, authorities have warned.

The government said all councils should provide collections by 31 March 2026, under the Environment Act 2021.

Ipswich Borough Council said the scheme would cost each council in Suffolk hundreds of thousands of pounds more than the money being given.

The government said it would "continue to work with local authorities".

The new Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) scheme would see weekly household collections of food waste across England for recycling and composting.

Phil Smart, Labour portfolio holder for the environment on Ipswich Borough Council, said the government was providing under £1m to local authorities.

"Some modelling done across all the waste authorities in Suffolk a couple of years ago suggested we are going to really need something like £1.6m - so about £700,000 short at a time when local government has hardly any money," he said.

"We have written a joint letter [with other Suffolk councils] to the government saying this is not enough. We are going to be well out of pocket unless the government can provide more grant."

North Norfolk District Council has estimated a £1.3m shortfall in the food waste scheme budget.

But Broadland Council, which is already running the scheme, said it was important to collect to protect the environment.

Jan Davis, Green cabinet member for the environment on Broadland, said: "The uptake has been about 80% of residents utilising the food waste service. That's really good.

"The peelings, the tea bags, the egg shells etc, we are collecting weekly. You can see over a week just how much food waste you accumulate."

A Defra spokeswoman said: "Our Simpler Recycling reforms will ensure that across England people will be able to recycle the same materials, without checking with their council.

"This is why we have brought forward up to £295m in capital funding for the provision of food waste containers and vehicles to local authorities required to expand or roll out weekly food waste collection services.

"We continue to work with local authorities and if any additional support is needed, we stand ready to help them further to deliver our reforms."

BBC Politics East will be broadcast on Sunday, 25 February at 10:00 GMT on BBC One in the East of England, and will be available after broadcast on BBC iPlayer.

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