South Derbyshire residents set to be charged for new food waste bins

Residents in a part of Derbyshire are set to be charged for new food waste bins to meet Government plans to separate weekly collections. South Derbyshire District Council, along with all other local councils, is looking at how it can meet Government plans to have separate weekly food waste collections from April 2026.

In a new report, the council says it plans to offer kitchen-top caddies to residents at a “reasonable cost” of £3 each, including delivery. It says previous offers of kitchen-top caddies have received a “low uptake” due to people having their own separate bin already.

Meanwhile, it says it will provide households with one free roll of 52 bin bags (costing £2) as an introductory “incentive” after which residents would be charged £2 per roll, including delivery, or choose to purchase them elsewhere. Residents would be provided with a free 20-23 litre external food waste caddy.

Central Government, under plans from the previous Conservative administration, is covering the cost of providing the scheme for the first year as a “transitional” payment, which also gives local councils money towards purchasing new vehicles and hiring extra staff. For South Derbyshire, it expects to spend £200,000 on caddies, £600,000 on eight 7.5-tonne bin lorries, £865,290 on 24 new staff, £18,000 on fuel and £12,000 on maintenance – to a total of £1.7 million.

District council officers say there are two options being considered for collections. Option one is to collect food waste with brown bins – as is the current policy – with no separate collection one week, and then in week two (the week your black general waste bin is collected) to have a second separate collection of the kerbside caddy.

Option two is to have separate kerbside caddy collections each week. District council officers say option one would be cheaper because it would require fewer vehicles and staff but say Derbyshire County Council – which oversees waste management – wants option two so that food waste can be treated by an anaerobic digester.

The district council says anticipated lead-in times for new vehicles will be 6-12 months from orders being placed. Procurement of these vehicles is being progressed and expressions of interest have been requested with suitable suppliers.

They write: “An additional risk to consider will be the pressure on the supply chain as all local authorities that do not currently collect food waste will be looking to procure vehicles over the coming months.” Amber Valley Borough Council has also expressed concern about the competition for vehicles, with all councils to be vying for new resources.

Borough council officers dubbed the move a “most unhelpful” additional pressure on its budget. Amber Valley and Erewash are the only two Derbyshire councils not to recycle food waste at all, while the Derbyshire Dales is the only authority that already offers a separate collection.

Last year, Daniel Ayrton, Derbyshire County Council’s assistant director of resources and waste, said the food waste collections mandate was a “once in a generation opportunity” to make improvements. He suggested the county bid for contracts on behalf of the districts and boroughs, which collect bins, to save on costs and improve efficiency and competition.

We send out the biggest stories in an email every day. Sign up for the main Derbyshire Live newsletter here.