Households across South Derbyshire have begun receiving new food waste caddies as part of a district-wide effort by South Derbyshire District Council to launch a new weekly collection service on 1 June 2026.
The distribution of the equipment, which includes a 23-litre outdoor caddy and a smaller kitchen caddy with compostable liners, started on 13 April 2026. The council expects all local homes to receive their sets by 22 May 2026 and asks residents to refrain from reporting any missed deliveries until after that date to allow teams to complete the rollout.
This new weekly service is part of the national Simpler Recycling reforms, which aim to ensure uniform recycling practices across England. Once the collections begin, residents must separate food scraps into these dedicated caddies, as food waste will no longer be permitted in garden waste bins.
The collected scraps will be sent to the Severn Trent Green Power facility in Derby. There, the waste will be processed at an anaerobic digestion plant to create renewable biomethane for the gas grid and bio-fertiliser for agricultural use.
The council is implementing this change to help address the significant volume of food thrown away in the United Kingdom, where households currently waste about 4.7 million tonnes of edible food annually. This equates to an average cost of £600 per household each year in wasted food.
To support this initiative, the district council has invested in eight new specialist collection vehicles. While procurement began early, manufacturing delays affected the initial timeline, contributing to the decision to move the full service launch to June.
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