East Riding to Introduce Weekly Food Waste Collections Amid Long-Term Funding Fears

Residents across the East Riding, including those in Bridlington and Driffield, are preparing for a significant change to their household routines as the local authority transitions to weekly food waste collections.

Starting on Monday, 9 February, brown bins—which are currently emptied every fortnight—will be collected every seven days for two-thirds of the region.

The shift is a response to a new Government directive, known as the Simpler Recycling initiative, which mandates that all local authorities provide weekly food waste pickups to reduce the volume of waste sent for disposal,. While the East Riding of Yorkshire Council has secured an exemption to continue "co-mingling" food and garden waste in the same brown bin, the frequency of the service must increase to meet national requirements,.

Councillor Paul West, the council’s cabinet member for environment and transport, outlined the logistics of the rollout, stating:

"It requires all local authorities to collect brown bin food waste collection on a weekly basis.

In the East Riding, we've had a system for many years where we've been able to co-mingle garden waste and our food waste. We managed to get an exemption so we can continue to do that. Our garden waste and food waste will go forward and continues to be composted.

It will be rolled out in February 2026 from the Carnaby, Headon and Market Weighton areas and then February 2027 to the rest of the East Riding

The paper calendar that we all get will be rolled out again. And we can see then that the new sort of program of where your bins will be collected when they'll be available."

To facilitate this expansion, the council has created more than 50 new jobs for bin crews and is in the process of purchasing 16 new lorries. While the initial setup and vehicles are being funded by the Government, concerns are mounting over how the service will be sustained in the years to come,.

Councillor West expressed caution regarding the longevity of this financial support, noting:

"We've purchased 16 new vehicles. It equates to about 50 new members of staff which will be rolled out over a period of about 2 years. The existing depots have to be re-jigged to accommodate those new vehicles.

Be under no illusion that in future years the burden that will be on the East Riding will be to support that service as it expanded.

The burden funding that the government sends down at some stage that would diminish or decrease and the burden then will fall on the local authority.

So if we think of that the average vehicle is about a quarter of a million pounds and I think the number to staff that vehicle is a similar amount. So there's several millions a year that will have to be found to accommodate that service as we go forward."

The move has also drawn sharp criticism from Reform UK councillor Denise Howard, who represents the East Wolds and Coastal ward. Councillor Howard described the transition as a "ridiculous waste of money" at a time when household budgets are under pressure, Councillor Howard remarked:

“With the cost of food as high as it is right now, how many households are going to have so much waste that it fills a brown bin every week? Not many is my guess,”

“It doesn’t matter if it is the council or the government paying for this nonsense, because it is the taxpayer that picks up the bill in the end.

“This is a stupid idea that is no doubt going to cause further financial pressure. Maybe the council should push back and tell the government, no!”

Despite these concerns, the council is urging residents to embrace the change to boost the region’s already high recycling rates,. To assist households, the council is offering free starter packs containing kitchen caddies and liners, which can be ordered through their website,.

Residents are reminded that when the weekly brown bin rounds begin, collection days for all bins—including blue and green bins—will likely change. While brown bins will be emptied weekly, blue and green bins will remain on a fortnightly schedule. New paper calendars will be posted to all households in the coming weeks to confirm their specific dates.

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