An executive member has said that “good progress” is being made ahead of the introduction of food waste collections in Middlesbrough next year.
Middlesbrough Council will be hoping for a smoother rollout than spring 2024, when the new garden waste service was introduced and labelled a “calamity” over distribution problems. The change saw a £40 charge introduced, when garden waste collection had previously been free. It is worth noting that in 2026, households will be provided with food waste caddies at no cost, with new collections being mandated by the government.
Executive member for environment and sustainability, Labour Cllr Peter Gavigan is presenting a report to full council, which details that “good progress” is being made with the introduction of food waste collections, set to begin next year. His report said: “We have procured our fleet of vehicles, designed our collection rounds and are currently working with our procurement colleagues to procure a company to deliver approximately 50,000 caddies to domestic properties across the town.”
Households will receive two food waste caddies due to the government legislating for ‘Simpler Recycling’, a scheme that aims for greater consistency of items that are recycled up and down the country. Changes are coming in from the beginning of April 2026. It isn’t just food waste collections that will start, with the existing recycling collection to be separated.
When speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service back in February, Director of Environment and Community Services, Geoff Field, said: “At the moment, we collect all of our recycling in one bin, in essence, and then we go to a company who sorts it all,” but this will soon be changing. “Everyone will be getting a different receptacle sometime in 2026 to collect that paper and cardboard separate to the other recycling,” Mr Field explained.
Cllr Gavigan’s report to full council on 9 July added: “Further to this we are awaiting approval to go weekly with our recycling collections to ensure we conform with the 2026 recycling regulations introduced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).”
As for garden waste, Cllr Gavigan’s report says: “We have 20,129 subscribers with a total bin count of 22,692 bins at residential properties. To date the garden waste service has generated approximately £856,420.”
