East Suffolk Council Issues Update on Food Waste Collections

Thursday, 11 June 2026 08:00

East Suffolk Council has reassured residents that food waste collections will continue during the rollout of the new Better Recycling service, despite some ongoing delays.

The council says most households are receiving their weekly food waste collections on time, but technical problems with the new specialist vehicles have meant some rounds were not completed last week. Crews are also still adapting to the new collection system.

Residents are being asked to continue putting their large food waste caddies out on their normal collection day, with the handle facing up to lock the lid. However, if a caddy is not emptied, households should bring it back in and wait for the next scheduled collection.

The council says missed collections from last week will be collected this week, and during this “bedding-in period” all households should receive a food waste collection at least every two weeks.

It is because of this temporary arrangement, residents are being asked not to report missed food waste collections at this stage. If caddies become full, extra food waste can temporarily be placed in the general waste bin.

Councillor Paul Ashton, Cabinet Member for Operations, said the wider recycling changes — including separate paper and cardboard collections and additional recycling for glass, cartons and soft plastics — were progressing well, but food waste collection was a completely new operation using different technology.

The council also said it is close to completing deliveries of bins to households that have not yet received them, and asked residents to avoid making repeated enquiries as this can slow down responses further.

East Suffolk Council says it is continuing to work to resolve the remaining issues and thanked residents for adapting positively to the new recycling system.