New weekly food waste collection to be introduced from April

 

This follows the passing of Government legislation which rules all councils in England must provide a weekly collection of food waste from all households for recycling or composting.

Each household will be provided with a 23-litre outdoor caddy and a 5-litre indoor caddy.

Residents will be required to separate their food waste from other waste and put it in a caddy for collection.

Pendle Borough Council will deliver the new collection service.

Councillor David Whipp, Leader of Pendle Borough Council, said: “The compulsory weekly collection of food waste is being brought in across the country. Because of the legislation, it will be a major change for recycling in Pendle that we have to introduce.

“The new food waste collection service won't start until April 2026, but the Council is already gearing up for the change.

"We know this will make a big difference to how households deal with their waste, and we'll work as hard as we can to bring the change in as smoothly as possible.

“The weekly collections should improve cleanliness in Pendle and, with food waste being used to generate electricity in Lancashire, it'll be good for the environment. The new collections will cost money though, which the Government has promised to pay." 

David Walker, Pendle Borough Council's Assistant Director of Operational Services, added: “Distribution of the caddies and liners to all households will start at the beginning of February 2026 and be completed by the end of March.

“We are asking residents not to use the caddies before the official start date at the beginning of April.”

Details of collection dates are in the new 2025/26 Recycling Calendars, which have been distributed to all households in Pendle, and are on the Council’s website https://www.pendle.gov.uk/recyclingcalendar.

Councillor Zafar Ali, the Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing and Customer Services, added: “The new food waste collection will build upon the recycling services we already provide to Pendle households.

"Food waste is currently collected fortnightly with general rubbish. We hope the weekly collections will increase our recycling rate and encourage residents to reduce food waste.”