Proposals expected in the forthcoming Waste Review to “encourage” councils to adopt weekly food waste collections may not be practical or affordable, council leaders have warned.

Under the review, which is due to be published next month, the government wants to tackle food waste and is understood to be considering providing some funding to help councils to collect food waste separately.

This idea is thought to be popular with ministers because it would not only help divert food waste from landfill but would also make good a pledge by communities secretary Eric Pickles’ to help councils bring back weekly waste collections.

While Mr Pickles was originally talking about weekly residual waste collections, weekly food waste collections are seen as something of a compromise which would fit in with Mr Pickles’ aims while also not damaging the good work achieved by councils in driving residual waste levels down.

However, the Local Government Association (LGA) – which represents councils across England and Wales – has warned that plans to tackle food waste could sit badly with local government if the funding is not sufficient. It has also warned that separate collections may not be suitable for every local area.

At a meeting with environment secretary Caroline Spelman and local government minister Bob Neill on March 31, the organisation, represented by chair Margaret Eaton, stressed that if any extra money was available to fund collections, councils did not want it ring-fenced and wanted to spend it how it saw fit.

And, it said there were other ways of diverting food waste from landfill than collecting it separately – through methods such as waste prevention, incineration and mechanical biological treatment.  The LGA also wants retailers and businesses to play a larger part in cutting waste.

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