Hampshire and Dorset councils to get millions for food waste collection

A total of £295m is being split between local authorities in England

Implementing weekly food waste collections across the county could be a "challenge", a councillor has said.

Recycling minister, Robbie Moore, has announced plans to divide £295m between local authorities.

The government funding is expected to pay for food waste containers for homes and specialist collection vehicles.

But Nick Adams-King from Hampshire County Council said Hampshire does not have the capacity for countywide food waste collections at the moment.

Councils in Havant, Gosport, East Hampshire, Winchester, Southampton, Fareham, New Forest and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, are among those authorities due to receive an estimated £11.5m in funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Currently, Eastleigh Borough Council, Portsmouth City Council and Rushmoor Borough Council already have food waste recycling collections but that is taken out of the county for recycling.

All other food waste, put out with general rubbish in Hampshire, is taken to energy recovery plants in Marchwood, Chineham and Portsmouth.

"The responsibility for collecting the waste is with each of the districts," he said.

"The responsibility for then getting rid of the waste and doing something useful with it, once it's been collected, lies with the county council... there is no money currently coming to the county council to deal with it appropriately."

The government funding is expected to pay for food waste containers

Cllr Adams-King explained planning permission has been granted to convert a recycling facility off the A31 in Alton, into an anaerobic digester, which would turn food waste into energy, which could help manage the increase in collections.

The funding is part of the government's Simpler Recycling plans.

Mr Moore said introducing weekly food waste collections by the end of March 2026 would be "a central plank in delivering a simpler, easier recycling system for all".

Meanwhile a spokesperson for DEFRA said: "We continue to work closely with local authorities and stand ready to help them further to deliver our reforms."

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2240.