The facts behind Rutland’s waste and recycling discussions

Rutland County Council agreed recommendations in a report presented to cabinet on Tuesday 12 November that will see the council begin to make preparations to introduce the statutory food waste collections that are being enforced by government by the end of March 2026.

Rutland County Council has put together the following fact finder sheet to ensure that residents have all of the correct information about the current situation with waste and recycling collections in Rutland, following the meeting.

Is Rutland introducing a food waste collection?

• Yes. Weekly food collections will be introduced in Rutland by March 2026 due to statutory requirements enforced by government.
• Cabinet agreed at a meeting on Tuesday 12 November for the council to begin the process of ordering food caddies, kerbside food bins and vehicles required to be able to implement food waste collections in time.

Has the Council agreed to reduce black bin collections from two weeks to three weeks?

• No. This has not been agreed. Currently, 43% of what goes into black bins is food waste and a further 16% is materials that could be recycled in grey bins. The council does need to look at reducing residual waste and encourage residents to fully take part in the new food waste collections.
• Other councils across the country have already done this successfully by introducing a three-weekly black bin collection or by reducing the capacity size of their black bins and continuing with two-weekly collections. These discussions will continue in Rutland and a decision will be made once we have more detail about government funding and statutory guidance.

When will the decision be made about any changes to refuse and recycling collections?

• Rutland County Council is waiting to hear from the government about any further New Burdens Funding and this is expected February 2025. Once we know what funding we will receive, we will look again at the options before making a formal recommendation and decision.

Why is Rutland County Council introducing food waste collections?

• Currently, the government is mandating that all councils introduce a food waste collection service by March 2026. The government has announced that New Burdens Funding will be given to be able to achieve this.
• However, we have only received the capital part of this funding so far and the amount that we have received does not cover the cost of purchasing the vehicles and bins and caddies needed to do this. The rest of the funding has not been confirmed and so leaves the council having to find ways to introduce a new service with a significant shortfall of funding, estimated to be around £190k. 
• Rutland County Council has to look at ways to introduce statutory food waste collections within budget, with this shortfall. The cost of disposing of black bin waste is significantly more expensive than recycling and therefore we need all residents to get behind the new collections.

Is this the first time that we have told people about possible changes?

• No. We first started conversations about food waste and reductions in residual waste capacity in our original waste strategy considerations, back in 2022.
• Most recently, a report was taken to our Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 17 October. This highlighted the considerations around changes to black bins. The minutes from this meeting explain that a fortnightly waste bin collection is the preferred option but a three-weekly waste bin collection could be the more cost effective option for Rutland. These minutes can be read on our meetings page.
• A press release was issued on 10 October which included information about the October scrutiny meeting and November cabinet meeting which would discuss not only the food waste introduction but also options for black bin collections. This was issued to local media, all Rutland County Councillors, on our website and on our social media channels.
• Another press release was issued on 7 November which highlighted the issues with government funding for the introduction for food waste collections and that the subject around waste and recycling collections was being discussed at cabinet on 12 November. This was issued to local media, all Rutland County Councillors, on our website and on our social media channels.

Waste less, recycle more

While we await confirmation from the government about details of any further funding, we're continuing to look at reducing Rutland’s waste through our 'Waste Less, Recycle More’ campaign.

We would encourage residents to please look at what they are putting in their black bins to help us reduce the amount we are disposing of. This will benefit households, council costs and the environment.