Council admit problems with food waste collections

East Suffolk Council said it was "aware" some rounds of food caddy collections had not been completed and could only guarantee a collection every two weeks whilst the new service embeds.

It started on 1 June as part of government changes to simplify recycling.

Under the scheme, food waste caddies were collected weekly with other bins, including ones for general waste and recycling, collected every three weeks.

Paul Ashton, cabinet member for operations at the council, said he was "frustrated" by the problems and the authority was "working hard to resolve the remaining issues".

The council said there had been "technical problems" with the new specialist vehicles that collect the food waste, and issues with collection crews adjusting to the new process.

Ashton said: "We are frustrated by this, but we are working hard to resolve the remaining issues and ensure our residents understand what they can expect during this bedding-in period."

He continued: "So, by providing reassurance that residents will receive a fortnightly food waste collection service, as a bare minimum during these early stages, we can provide some certainty for the time being."

The council advised residents to bring their caddies back from the kerbside if they were not collected and put them out on their assigned day the following week.

It added that there was no need to report the missed collection.

The council stressed this was a temporary measure, but it could only guarantee a food waste collection every two weeks for the time being.

It said that if the large caddy became full, residents could place the extra food waste in their general waste bin for collection.

The council confirmed "the other new collection streams, including separate containers for paper and cardboard, are progressing smoothly".

It also said it was close to completing delivery to households that have not yet received their bins.

All councils across Suffolk have changed their waste collection services to improve and simplify recycling rates, following calls from the government.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "For too long, households in England have been presented with a muddled and confusing patchwork of approaches to bin collections".

It added that the changes would help it meet its Simpler Recycling in England policy target to recycle 65% of municipal waste by 2035.

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