Leeds misses deadline for new food waste collections under Simpler Recycling rules

The changes, which came into force across England this week, are designed to ensure all councils provide dedicated food waste collections in a bid to reduce landfill and increase recycling rates.

However, Leeds has yet to roll out a citywide service.

A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said the authority remains “committed to delivering on a 3-bin policy” and meeting the new requirements, highlighting that it already complies with rules on dry recycling through its existing green bin system.

The council said its approach to food waste is to build on Leeds’ existing garden waste infrastructure, allowing most households to use brown bins for both garden and food waste.

“This ‘organic waste collection’ approach is being trialled across 8,500 homes in the Wetherby and Collingham area,” the authority said. “The lessons learnt from this will inform the necessary procurement process for contractors able to recycle the 60,000 tonnes of mixed garden and food waste expected when rolled out citywide.”

That procurement process is expected to be completed this year, with a further update on the full rollout timeline to follow.

The council said its position remains unchanged from statements issued earlier this year and discussed at a scrutiny board meeting in January.