Consultation launched on household waste collections

Cheshire East residents are invited to have their say on plans for how weekly food waste collections could be introduced across the borough.

Simpler Recycling Scheme legislation, announced by the Government in October 2023, means that all local authorities must collect food waste from their residents on a weekly basis by no later than 1 April 2026.

This is a significant operational change affecting almost all residents in Cheshire East, and the financial impacts on Cheshire East Council will also be significant – estimated to be around 1.5m per year.

The council has not been told how much funding it will receive from Government to compensate it for introducing these changes, and there is a significant risk that the funding will not cover the costs in full.

To reduce this financial burden, the council is now consulting on a preferred option for rolling out weekly food waste collections, which would include changing black bin collections to once every three weeks.

If implemented, this change would be delivered at the same time as the weekly food waste collections begin.

The consultation closes on 20 October 2024. To take part, click here.