Blog: 3 March 2023 - Womble Bond Dickinson, Corporate Partner

‘Preparing for the separate food waste collection service’

Andrew Hirst, project and procurement lawyer at Womble Bond Dickinson explores how waste management contracts will change in light of the changes to the separate food waste collection service.

OPINION: The Environment Act has made it compulsory for local authorities to offer their residents a separate food waste collection service by 2023. Authorities currently utilise a variety of set-ups to manage the collection and processing of waste and recycling, and as such  many are still in the process of deciding how to make separate food waste collections a reality.

According to insight from WRAP, 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally each year, 9.5 million tonnes of this is from the UK alone.

How is the change being funded?

As outlined in the Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener, the government is currently offering £295m of funding towards the collection side of food waste (e.g. procuring new vehicles). However, local authorities will need to fund the additional cost of processing, disposal and building new treatment facilities. Therefore the top priority for local councils is likely to be making this service change as economically efficient as possible. The choices available depend on an authority’s existing waste management set-up, which is likely to fall into the following categories.

Existing waste management contracts

Most waste disposal authorities have long term waste management contracts, which are often PFI contracts. Authorities with existing waste management contracts should look at whether there would be any contractual implications for removing food waste from the current tonnage of waste it treats. Such contracts should also be reviewed to see what options are available. Authorities with long term disposal contracts should also engage with Defra in order to explore whether transitional arrangements can be agreed which allow a delay to the introduction of source segregated food collections.

Procuring a new contract

Local authorities about to procure a new contract are in a good position and have a number of options available to them. They can either procure their own treatment facility or utilise an existing third party-run merchant facility. To ensure they have sufficient food waste available to make the plant feasible, many authorities may have to collaborate with other authorities. However, a collaboration like this would come down to food waste tonnage available and a local authority’s relationship with neighbours, as well as existing capacity in that region.

The net zero puzzle

Local authorities with ambitious net zero targets must carefully consider how their waste policies contribute to meeting their target. A key part of this is how it introduces separate food waste collections. As best practice, any new contracts procured by local authorities should incorporate carbon emission targets which contractors will be expected to meet and report on.

For further information please contact Andrew Hirst, Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson