A proposal to introduce a food waste collection service in Poole is to go to BCP Council’s Cabinet next week.
If approved, food waste collections for Poole households and also flats in Bournemouth will be introduced by the end of March 2026.
Residents without access to a bin will be offered recycling bags.
A kerbside collection service is due to begin this October.
The proposals will help the council meet the legal obligations of the Environment Act 2021.
Another plan being considered is enhancing the council’s commercial waste service to support businesses, including schools and hospitals, to recycle and collect food waste by March 31 2025.
A central government grant of £1.537 million has been awarded to invest in new collection vehicles and containers for food waste collection and to support the roll-out of the new service.
Cllr Andy Hadley, Portfolio Holder for Climate Response, Environment and Energy, said: “Residents in Poole have been asking for food waste bins for some time now, so it’s great that they will benefit from the introduction of food waste collections in early 2026.
“Once implemented, these changes will enable the same service for all our residents, another significant step we’re taking towards a more sustainable future for our community.
“By introducing a BCP-wide commercial food waste collection service and expanding our recycling initiatives to include plastic film to the same timescale, we are actively reducing our environmental impact and promoting responsible waste management.
“All these measures not only benefit our environment but also contribute to building a cleaner and healthier community for generations to come.”
BCP Council says the new waste and recycling reforms will help it cut down harmful emissions, by removing food from general waste, saving money on waste disposal and creating energy from food through anaerobic digestion to help power homes.
Introducing food waste collections in Poole and to flats across Bournemouth is expected to improve BCP Council’s recycling rate by six per cent.
Nationally, 60 per cent of food waste comes from people’s homes and 18 million tonnes of CO2 are generated by UK households from wasted consumable food and drink.
BCP Council’s Cabinet meets on Wednesday May 22.
The reports to Cabinet can be seen here.
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