A NEW government-mandated weekly food waste collection service looks set to be halted in Kidderminster, Bewdley and Stourport amidst fears it will put ‘catastrophic pressure’ on local finances.
From March 31, Wyre Forest District Council will be required by law to collect food waste separately but it has claimed the Government has not provided any cash to cover the day-to-day running of the service.
Council documents show the service is estimated to cost the authority more than £1million-a-year to operate.
Documents also claim the council had a 0 per cent increase in core funding from the Government for the forthcoming financial year.
At a meeting on Wednesday, Wyre Forest District Council’s cabinet voted not to make any arrangements for weekly food waste collections until the Government provided extra cash to cover the cost.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has provided £1.15million of new burdens funding for capital costs related to the procurement of vehicles, containers and caddies.
A further £298,000 in funding was provided by DEFRA for transitional costs in 2024/25 and 2025/26.
The unused amounts of new burdens funding for capital and transitional costs are being set aside by the council.
Coun Nathan Desmond, Wyre Forest District Council’s Cabinet Member for Operational Services, said while the authority welcomed this funding, the local government settlement did not contain any additional revenue specifically for food waste.
“This administration is not against food waste in principle – had the Government funded this important scheme, we would have relished it and rolled it out to the best of our ability.
“But we have to act pragmatically and responsibly.
“If we did continue with the food waste collection, it would put our finances under immense and probably catastrophic pressure over the next few years.
“We can’t risk the financial stability of this authority – we have no option but to defer – we are not saying never.”
Coun Fran Oborski, speaking in her role as vice-chair of the overview and scrutiny committee, said a progress report should be brought back to the committee in nine months or earlier, to ensure the food waste collections could be provided when money was made available by the Government.
The full council has been asked to endorse the decision taken by the cabinet.
Wyre Forest MP Mark Garnier took to the House of Commons earlier this week to raise concerns about the issue.
In response, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed said: “Funding for food waste recycling has been built into the local government finance settlement, so it is present and the new burden is being funded in that way.
“The settlement follows a funding formula and it takes into account the costs of delivering food waste recycling.”
