Darlaston councillor calls on council to review unpopular food waste collection decision

Recently, 6,000 leaflets were sent out to residents in Darlaston South asking for their opinions about the introduction of the service which all councils must do before March 2026.

The leaflets detail the two options that Walsall Council had looked into for the delivery of the new service.

Option one was to issue all residents with an indoor and outdoor food waste caddy, which would be collected every week, at an estimated cost of £1.7 million.

Option two was to combine the food waste with garden waste in the existing brown bin, and have the brown bin collected all year round.

Option two was deemed more expensive, at an additional £2.6m per year, and was discounted in favour of option one.

But Councillor Bott believes that the year-round brown bin use would be cost-effective if waste was processed locally into electricity and fertiliser, avoiding additional recycling costs.

At a scrutiny committee meeting in May, the now leader of the council, Councillor Mike Bird, had criticised the council for not considering investing in a biomass and anaerobic digestion machine at the new Household Waste Recycling Centre in Aldridge.

Councillor Bird said the machine could be used to produce electricity and fertiliser which could be sold.

The scrutiny committee recommended to the cabinet that £100,000 be used to carry out a feasibility study into the alternative method.

But cabinet members rejected the move as spending money on an ‘untried and untested’ scheme would be a ‘waste of money’.

Earlier this month Walsall Council launched its waste strategy consultation with residents of the borough.

The consultation makes no reference to either of the options, nor does it reference any practical differences for any individual resident of the borough.

It asks nine nearly identically worded questions, each asking whether concepts like ‘partnerships’ or ‘policy implementation’ should be ‘targeted actions’ in the waste strategy.

Councillor Bott described the consultation as a ‘whitewash’ but Walsall Council has since said there will be a separate food waste collection consultation for residents in the autumn.

Councillor Bott said he has been ‘overwhelmed’ with more than 50 phone calls and emails in response to the leaflet that was recently sent out, saying every resident preferred option two.

Councillor Bott said: “It’s been overwhelming that people want option two to use the brown bin for garden waste and food waste, and have it collected 12 months of the year.

“People want them because they don’t want the rat infestations.

“I don’t think it is going to be more expensive, what councillors said in the scrutiny committee is that all the waste could be recycled at the depot for electricity and fertiliser.

“That way it stops in the borough and doesn’t have to be recycled somewhere else, where there’s a cost.

“I don’t think the cabinet looked at the issues with this recycling of food. Ten people have made the decision for 200,000 residents in Walsall. The consultation is a whitewash.”

At Councillor Bird’s first full council meeting as leader in July, he said he would review the mandatory food waste collection service but provided no updates on the matter.

A council spokesperson said: “We are required by new legislation to introduce weekly food waste collections, which will be rolled out in 2026. While the council must introduce this service, using it is optional for residents.

“Residents will be invited to share their views on the new food waste recycling service, including how collections will be carried out in a consultation this autumn.

“The council is committed to providing a solution that complies with legal requirements, promotes environmental sustainability and delivers the best value for residents.”