New Sheffield food waste recycling scheme awaits go-ahead

Sheffield City Council says that it ran a pilot scheme involving 8,200 city homes last year because in the next few years all areas of England will be required by law to provide a weekly food waste recycling service.

The council’s web page on the scheme (https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/bins-recycling-services/food-waste-recycling-trial) says that the government has yet to confirm when separate collections will be required.

The government initially proposed 2023 and more recently suggested this be delayed until 2025.

The web page says: “The food that we eat and throw away impacts the amount of carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere. This trial will contribute to our objective of becoming a zero-carbon city by the start of the next decade.”

A spokeswoman for the council said this week that the decision to roll out food waste collections will go to the council waste and street scene committee in September for approval.

The roll-out will then depend on the government timescales.

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If approved in September, the decision will help Sheffield prepare for when the rollout is confirmed by government.

The food waste trial took place for 12 weeks between August and November 2022. A total of 8,200 households took part.

All households in the trial areas received a five-litre kitchen caddy, a 23-litre outside food waste bin, a roll of compostable liners and instructions on how to use them.

In total, the council collected 123 tonnes of food waste during the trial.