A COUNTY council has been accused of “kicking the can down the road” on introducing kerbside food waste collections, which are set to cost more than £2m per year.

The service, which should have been up and running three months ago, will not now be in place until next year, Herefordshire Council has said.

Providing a food waste collection service to residents “is a national requirement”, a council spokesperson confirmed – but said it would cost the county over £2m a year to run.

“Since the Government confirmed council funding earlier this year, work has continued on the plans and costs for introducing the service,” they said.

“A report is due to go to Cabinet at the end of July, with a recommendation that the service starts in 2027.”

The council confirmed over a year ago that it had received £1.85 million to cover the cost of new food caddies and collection vehicles for the service – though not to cover its running costs.

The council’s Green group leader Coun Stef Simmons (Ledbury South) said food waste collections “are long overdue in Herefordshire”, and should “give residents access to the modern waste services available across much of the UK”.

“Residents are rightly asking why they are being left behind,” she said. “The administration can’t keep kicking the food waste can down the road.”

But she acknowledged that Herefordshire “has been seriously short-changed by the government’s funding settlement”.

According to waste reduction charity WRAP, three-quarters of local authorities have already introduced domestic food waste collections.

Its delivery lead for England and Northern Ireland Sue Reed said food waste “is a huge environment and social issue”.

A WRAP report in 2022 found nearly four million of the five million tonnes of food waste collected by UK local authorities was either incinerated or went to landfill.

“We understand that Herefordshire Council remains committed to implementing a separate food waste collection when resources allow,” Ms Reed said.