£4.2m food waste collection scheme to be rolled out in Plymouth

Food waste collections are to be rolled out in the Plymouth area from March next year.

It means that instead of putting food items in their brown bins, residents will be provided with a separate food waste caddy.

The service, costing £4.2m to implement over the next few years, is expected to create an uplift in the city’s under performing recycling rate by up to 8%.

Plymouth City Council’s cabinet will be asked to approve the business case for the roll out at its meeting on Monday.

Households in parts of Devonport, Plympton, Plymstock, Southway, Stoke and Whitleigh will be the first to have the collections.

The council said the service would eventually serve every household in Plymouth, bringing the city in line with most other local authorities in the UK.

Setting up costs have been met by a combination of the council’s revenue reserves, borrowing and grant funding from Defra.

The setting up process has included 10 new vehicles, food waste containers, increased staffing and an infrastructure upgrade of the Prince Rock depot.

Councillor Tom Briars-Delve, cabinet member for the environment and climate change, said: “We’ve been working really hard to get our food waste recycling service mobilised and it’s exciting to get to this stage of the process.

“We know many people in Plymouth are keen for us to get going with it and we also know that some households will want more information about how it will work in practice – and we will be providing lots of information and advice in the run up to them starting next year.”

The roll out of the bins will be split into five phases, with the first beginning in March 2026 and other phases following in July, August, September and November.

Residents who want to find out if their home is in the first phase, can enter their address into an online tool on the council website.