Calls for alternative food waste collection service in Walsall rejected
Walsall Council’s cabinet members have rejected calls to try out an alternative method of providing the new food waste collection service.
Last month, the cabinet approved the new £1.7million scheme which will involve all households being issued with a small food waste caddy for the kitchen and a 23-litre kerbside caddy to be collected weekly.
The decision comes in response to the mandatory deadline requiring all local authorities to implement food waste collections by March 31, 2026.
After the decision was made, Councillor Pete Smith from Walsall’s independent group called it in to be scrutinised, saying it was ‘nodded through’ without any consultation.
At the meeting on May 13, councillors raised concerns about rat infestations, foxes getting into the caddies and people kicking them over.
Councillor Mike Bird proposed that the council allocate £100,000 from the council’s reserves to look into an alternative option of using biomass and anaerobic machine to process the food waste on-site at the new Aldridge super-tip.
Councillor Bird said that using this method would mean that food waste could be combined with garden waste in the existing brown bin, rather than using a kerbside caddy.
Members at the scrutiny committee meeting voted unanimously in favour of the proposal, which brought the item back before cabinet.
During the May 2 cabinet meeting, Portfolio Holder for Street Pride, Councillor Kerry Murphy, said the scrutiny meeting had been ‘hijacked and sidetracked’.
She said: “If these machines were so great, why aren’t McDonald’s and the NHS using them? If it’s that great, they would be using it. All businesses need to save money.
“We need a lot more research. We don’t know how many people will take this up; it’s all up in the air. With anything new, we’ve got to roll it out before we know what’s happening.
“Once this is under, there will be a lot more on the market for people to choose from, so I don’t think we should be rushing into anything. There will be more on the market, which will drive costs down as well.”
Members spoke of an existing feasibility study with Shropshire County Council, looking into the potential use of pyrolysis as a way of dealing with the borough’s waste in the future.
Cabinet members voted to ignore the recommendation of allocating £100,000 from the council’s reserves for the new feasibility study.
Acting leader, Councillor Adrian Andrew said: “The April cabinet report set out that combining food waste and garden waste would be considerably more expensive due to the disposal costs.
“While I understand fewer bins would be welcomed, the additional £900,000 isn’t affordable in the current financial climate.
“A separate food waste collection gives residents a choice about participation, people don’t have to do this across the borough, and the other thing, there will not be any additional charge to residents in terms of bringing this in.”
Councillor Edward Lee added: “Spending £100,000 on an untried and untested scheme really is a waste of money and I prefer to see it spent on things like community safety, things that matter to our residents.”
