Before talk of mandatory food waste collections became topical most local authorities had to consider quite a few things before deciding on whether introducing a new food waste collection service was viable. Now councils will be considering how and when, not if, they will introduce the service. With that in mind, we thought sharing lessons from local authorities that already collect food waste would be of help to the 50% or so of councils making plans to introduce the service shortly.

Food waste collections have been introduced to reduce disposal costs and increase recycling performance, in combination with reduced residual capacity and environmental benefits. So, whilst local authorities may now be forced into a change, there are benefits to be had, even though it may be a challenge.

Whilst the Government is aiming for consistency in what is collected and especially how it is collected, the operational considerations are varied. The bulk of costs are in the collection, i.e. the salaries, bins, vehicles, and maintenance. Total costs vary according to the collection profile, rurality, demographics, and housing stock of a local authority. Most collection methods with a weekly food waste collection are less expensive than those without them, but where the costs and savings sit differ hugely on the type of collections. It’s important to explore all collection options, including changes to existing operations to ensure the best fit for each council, and be locally determined.

All waste management choices made by local authorities need to consider end markets for the materials. Whilst food waste end markets have developed more over the last 5-10 years, there are significant regional differences. It’s vital to understand whether you can direct deliver food waste or whether it needs to be bulked before onward treatment and the suitability for material to be spread on land. Again, there is no generic right answer, but for each local authority there is likely to be a clear preference given local regional availability.

The operational logistics are vital in setting up for success, but it is important that the initial introduction of the delivery of new services is also a success. It will ensure high performance and enable the local authority to get the best out of the new services. A poor launch will affect immediate take up and once introduced it’s much harder to get new starters on board.

Before launching, local authorities need to consider the following:

• when the best time to launch the scheme is

• whether it can be done all at once or phased in

• how the waste could be collected in the most efficient way

• procurement lead times for vehicles etc.

• caddy delivery timescales and limitations

• how the collected food waste will be treated

• what changes are required to treatment/disposal arrangements and contracts

• the carbon impacts of introducing food waste collections

• how the communications will be continued after initial launch

All of these factors will contribute to a successful roll-out and ensure the service starts on the front foot with high performance.

There are lots of local authorities who have introduced food waste collections successfully, so there is plenty of opportunity to learn lessons and apply ready-made solutions to overcome common challenges.

The following points are some of the observations that NAWDO members have made about food waste collections and are worth considering.

To line or not to line? Residents prefer to use liners, whether the local authority provides them or not, so it’s important to understand the end markets and how the collected food waste will be treated to inform a position on liners. Generally, schemes that provide liners perform better, but there is a cost to this. There is no easy answer, but it is vital to consider liners at the beginning when planning the service, not as an afterthought.

Quality of service? Food waste collections also seem to be much more sensitive to quality of service than other collections. Households are much more likely to stop participating if a collection is missed, a caddy gets damaged or containers are thrown back after collection day. Ensuring the standards for this service are high will help maintain good performance and yield.

Despite the obvious difficulties in introducing a service and running it smoothly, there are huge benefits locally and nationally to the new mandatory collections and by capitalising on other local authorities’ experiences we can make this a national success.

This article was originally published in the winter issue of LAPV. For a free subscription sign up here.