During a recent Cabinet meeting, it
was agreed that the collection of food waste, planned to be
rolled out in Spring 2026, will be carried out on behalf of
Havant Borough Council through a partnership with Portsmouth
City Council.
A new collection service will be
introduced next year, with the pilot scheme initially
running in a specific area within the borough.
This major change to how we deal
with food waste will help residents recycle more, reduce
what goes to energy recovery, and turn leftovers into
something genuinely useful.
Working with Portsmouth City
Council, food waste will be collected weekly by a different
crew, on the same days as current rubbish and recycling
collections. The food waste will then be sent for anaerobic
digestion.
The decision to introduce the new
collections reflects the implementation set out in the
governments Simpler Recycling reforms introduced under the
Environment Act 2021, which aims to reduce food waste,
improve recycling rates and help address climate change.
Councillor
Netty Shepherd, Deputy Leader of Havant Borough Council and
Cabinet Lead for Commercial (pictured), talks about how she
is looking forward to the changes, click the image to hear
what she has to say.
Cllr Shepherd then goes on to say
“I am delighted to announce that we will be working with our
neighbouring authority, Portsmouth City Council, who will
collect food waste on our behalf.
“We will be working closely with
Portsmouth City Council to identify which area we will pilot
the new collection service in and announce this exciting
news in the new year.
“I would like to reassure our
residents that the cost of setting up the food waste
collection service is being fully funded by Central
Government and not from their council tax. The funding will
be used to purchase kitchen caddies, outdoor food bins and
specialist collection vehicles.
“We have a legal requirement to
reach a 65% recycling rate by 2035; that’s more than twice
the amount the borough is currently achieving.”
Cllr Dave Ashmore, Cabinet Member
for Environmental Services at Portsmouth City Council, said:
"I'm really pleased that we will be delivering this
important service to Havant borough residents, and look
forward to working with Havant Borough Council to reduce
food waste and increase recycling rates.
"We'll be offering this service in
addition to our current well-established food waste
recycling programme in Portsmouth, which will not be
affected by the change."
The types of food waste that will
be collected separately include:
•
Fruit and vegetable peelings, cores, and skins
•
Plate scrapings and food scraps, including eggshells
•
Bread, rice, and pasta that can no longer be eaten
•
Teabags and coffee grounds
•
Cooked or raw meat and fish that can no longer be
eaten, including bones
We are not encouraging residents to
throw away edible food; the service is intended for
unavoidable food waste only.
More information on the new
collection service will be available over the coming months
in the
Your Borough monthly e-newsletter, information delivered
to targeted areas involved in the initial rollout, on the
council’s social media channels and on the council’s
website.
The Borough of Havant’s current
recycling rate is 30%.
Havant
Borough Council 9th December
