A new food waste collection service is ready to begin in Stafford Borough later this month – and residents have been receiving new bins as well as special liners to reduce the "yuck factor".

Weekly food waste collections are being introduced across England this spring, but some local authorities will be unable to start their services until later in the year due to vehicle procurement issues, Stafford Borough councillors have been told.

Delivery of two new bins for households – a small kitchen caddy to collect food waste indoors and a larger outdoor caddy to transfer waste to for kerbside collection – began in Stafford Borough last month.

The service is set to begin from Monday 13 April, with food waste being collected on the same say as residents' other bins are emptied by Veolia, the borough council's waste and recycling contractor.

At the borough council's latest Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee meeting, Cllr Marnie Phillips provided an update on a task and finish group that has been meeting to consider the introduction of food waste collections in the area.

She said: "Although a number of questions have been raised by the public, it would seem on the whole people seem quite positive about it.

"The questions people are raising are what you would expect, such as who is paying for it, does it cost us in council tax.

"I think with some of the complaints about the bins, as soon as they receive them they will understand the size as we have had comments of 'how am I going to add another bin to the three wheelie bins already outside'.

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Committee chair Cllr Ann Edgeller said: "I had one very excited 24-year-old with two young children ringing me up to say 'Nan, I've got my food waste bin and it's absolutely fantastic, and I've got this big roll of bags to use.

"I've started using it already, I'm so excited'."

Head of operations Joss Presland told the committee weekly food waste collections in England had been announced by the Government in 2023. "Wales have already done it for a number of years and we've got one authority in Staffordshire that already does it, which is Newcastle Borough", he said.

"There has been an issue nationally with vehicle procurement.

"We secured our vehicles, but other councils haven't been quite so lucky – other councils are having to wait until the summer or later in the year before they can start their food waste rollout.

"We went early with vehicle procurement with our colleagues in Staffordshire and we managed to get our procurement slots in, which was great news for us.

"Veolia completed their recruitment of drivers and loaders and we luckily managed to get quite a large storage facility opposite the Veolia plant on Beaconside.

"In November we took delivery of the food waste containers and caddies and we have the leaflets as well as caddy liners coming.

"The service is due to start from 13th April.

"Lots of residents are positive about it.

"There are the negative 'why are you doing this, why can't you fix the potholes' – however hard you try to tell people we don't do the potholes, we still get the blame for potholes (which are a county council matter).

"I know there is a 'yuck' factor, which is why we're doing the liners.

"But I think when people get used to it, if you tried to take it off them in 12 or 18 months time they would be very disappointed."

Mr Presland added that the collection service could also serve as an "education process" for people, to see how much food waste they produced, and could enable them to reduce how much food they bought and cut the cost of living.

"Hopefully it will have a positive impact on them", he said.

"We're aiming for between 30% and 40% take up to start with.

"It will take a while for people to get used to it, then hopefully they will take it up.

"There is a lot of good behind it – that is the key message I want to get over to people.

"It is another change in the waste service and people get fed up of changing the waste service – I would say to people it will continue to change as technologies come into place.

"The whole point of it is to reduce the detrimental impact of what does come off food waste if it goes to landfill or incineration.

"The gases that come off it are more environmentally damaging than CO2 (carbon dioxide)."

Food waste collection in Stafford Borough Council explained:

Caddy liners are being provided for small kitchen caddies to collect food waste in.

When the liner is full, tie a knot in it and transfer it to the larger kerbside caddy.

Large kerbside caddies should be put out with other bins on your usual collection day.

The food waste will be taken to a local anaerobic digestion plant to produce bio gas.

It is used to generate heat and electricity for the National Grid, as well as a bio-fertiliser to be used on local farms.

What can be put in the food waste caddy?

• Raw and cooked meat or fish, including bones
• Raw and cooked fruit and vegetables and their peelings
• Fast food, takeaway and ready meal left overs
• Tea leaves and bags and coffee grounds
• Dairy products such as cheese, eggs and egg shells
• Baked goods such as bread, cake, pastries, pies and biscuits
• Pet food
• Rice, pasta, noodles, beans and pulses

What shouldn't be put in the food waste caddy?

• Packaging
• Liquids such as milk or oil
• Non-food products
• Dead animals such as mice or birds