Food waste is set to be collected from households in Crowborough and across the Wealden district from next year.
The new food waste collection service is planned to start from March 2026, and will see every household issued with “caddies” – one for use inside the home and a larger one for outside.
The existing waste contractor, Biffa, will be delivering the collection service and, at a recent meeting of Wealden District Council’s Joint Waste and Recycling Committee that 20 new collection vehicles had been ordered and were being manufactured in Scotland.
Biffa said it had begun analysis for the new waste collection rounds and expected to have this completed in the autumn. It’s not yet clear how the collection rounds will, or won’t, align with existing waste and recycling routes and rounds.
The food waste scheme is being introduced across the whole East Sussex Joint Waste Partnership – made up of Hastings Borough, Rother District and Wealden District councils and was first announced when the contract with Biffa was extended to June 2033, in January.
By law all local authorities will have to have a food waste collection service in place by 31 March 2026, and funding for the scheme is coming from the Govt.
As well as introducing a food waste collection, the contract extension – worth approximately £119m over the seven years – also includes improved environmental credentials with the new fleet of waste collection vehicles being operated on hydrotreated vegetable oil – reducing carbon emissions by up to 90% as well as the transition to electric vans and cars.
During Biffa’s current term, the councils have experienced an increase in the partnership’s recycling rate from 37% in 2019 to 46% in 2024, as well as a significant drop in missed bin collections.
Speaking after the contract was extended, Cllr James Partridge, leader of the council, said: “The extension of our contract with Biffa is great news for Wealden residents. It will secure a high quality, value for money, waste collection and cleaning service for another seven years and mean we can focus on improving waste management services, promoting recycling, and providing a cleaner, more sustainable environment for our district.”