A date has been confirmed for when a huge change in people’s recycling will happen – which is aimed at improve recycling and waste collection across England. The strategy includes a new weekly, separate collection for household food waste to be introduced in 2026.
A major focus of the strategy is on household waste and recycling, with an aim to reduce the amount of waste produced and bring recycling rates in line with other local authorities in the country. Additionally, research has shown that, of the 135,000 tonnes of domestic rubbish sent for incineration each year, two thirds could be recycled elsewhere.
Councils around the country will have to start a new, weekly food waste collection next year to help bring down the amount of household waste. A significant amount of all waste in normal household waste bins is found to be food waste (a total of 32.75%).
Local authorities will be embarking on campaigns so households know about the incoming changes, which are due to be implemented from 1 April 2026. These include a new food waste collection service and an increase variety of materials that can be recycled in blue bins.
The new default requirement for most households and workplaces will be 4 containers for:
- residual (non-recyclable) waste
- food waste (mixed with garden waste if appropriate)
- paper and card
- all other dry recyclable materials (plastic, metal and glass)
These may be various container types, including bags, bins or stackable boxes.
The Goverment’s ‘Simpler Recycling’ strategy states: “Councils and other waste collectors will still have the flexibility to make the best choices to suit local need. This is a sensible, pragmatic approach to the collection of materials for every household and business in England.
“We will make recycling easier: citizens will be able to recycle the same materials across England whether at home, work or school, and will no longer need to check what is accepted for recycling in their local area. A universal standard will ensure that everything that can be collected for household recycling is collected in every region.”
As well as weekly food waste collections by 1 April 2026, the government has said by 31 March 2027, kerbside plastic film collections from businesses and relevant non-domestic premises, and households will be introduced.
What is food waste?
Food waste is any waste generated through the preparation of food, or where there are leftovers after a meal. This includes:
fruit and vegetable peelings, cores and fruit skins
teabags and coffee grounds
plate scrapings
raw and cooked meat and fish, including bones and shells
dairy products and eggshells
bread, rice and pasta
pet food
Leader of Liverpool City Council, Cllr Liam Robinson said: “We’re committed to making Liverpool a cleaner, greener place to live and work, as well as reaching Net Zero across the city, and how we tackle our waste is a key component to helping us to reach that goal.
“Waste collection and processing makes up around 9% of the City’s emissions. That is too high. This new strategy outlines important steps that both the Council and our communities can make to help us to reduce the amount of carbon we’re releasing into the atmosphere.
“Reducing the amount of waste that we produce, and recycling as much of our rubbish as possible means that less gets sent to incinerators and more gets reused again and again. This could also lead to a significant cost saving for the Council, delivering best value for our residents.
“This new strategy is a major step towards us working together as a community to protect the environment for generations to come.”
