Wiltshire Council has set a date for its food waste collection service to begin.

Although the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) had previously confirmed that local authorities should provide food waste collection by the end of March 2026, Wiltshire Council was among the councils given dispensation due to existing contractual agreements with service providers.

Wiltshire Council has now confirmed that it will start collecting weekly food waste from August 1, 2027.

It gave this update at the full council meeting on Tuesday, February 20.

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Councillor Nick Holder, cabinet member for environment, said: “The changes through the Environment Act will have a significant impact on waste services throughout the country.

“We’ve been awaiting clear detail from Defra on these important issues for some time, so it’s good to now have the necessary direction so that we can begin to plan these services in detail for our residents.

“We know people are rightly passionate about food waste collection and perhaps want the service earlier but due to our current contractual arrangements this isn’t possible.

“However, in the meantime, we will be doing what we can do to support and advise residents before our collection service starts in 2027.

“There are plenty of ways to manage food waste effectively so that as much is recycled as possible and not wasted.”