The Policy Development Panel of South Holland District Council is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, 17 December 2025, to discuss and provide feedback on proposed new waste policies. These policies are required to implement a new waste collection delivery model, in response to legislative changes brought about by the Environment Act 2021. The panel will also discuss any other urgent items raised by Councillor Andrew Robert Woolf, Chairman of the Council.

Waste Policies

The main item for discussion is the proposal of new waste policies to support the implementation of a new waste collection delivery model. According to the report pack, the new model was approved earlier in the year to meet legislative changes from the Environment Act 2021, specifically Simpler Recycling, which requires a common set of recyclable materials to be collected, along with a weekly separate food waste collection.

The report to be presented to the panel states that the current waste collection service does not allow the council to control the amount of waste presented, making it difficult to identify contamination in recycling. The proposed new waste policies, detailed in Appendix A of the report pack, aim to provide residents and businesses with information on how the new waste collection system will operate.

The report pack indicates that the new policies are intended to enable the committee to consider the new rules and requirements to ensure the delivery of an effective, efficient and safe waste service. The agreed policies will be published on the council's website and used to engage with residents. It is noted that during the initial stages of the new service, extensive engagement will take place with residents, and some policies may need to be introduced with additional guidance during the mobilisation phase.

Appendix B of the report pack provides a comparison of current and proposed waste policies.

The key changes in policy include:

• The default waste collection provision will be 3 wheeled bins (residual waste, mixed dry recycling, and paper and card) and a kitchen caddy and kerbside caddy for food waste collection.
• Collections will take place on bank holidays, except for Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
• A new policy for properties exempt from bin collections, such as those where it is not possible to store bins, or where bins would need to be stored on the highway.
• Side waste (waste placed outside of a bin) will not be collected.
• Charges will apply for new bins for new builds, and for replacement bins due to damage, loss, or theft.
• There is an enhanced obligation to segregate waste.
• There is a change of timescale for recollection of missed bins.
• Households can apply for additional bins depending on circumstances.

The report pack also sets out the council's strategic commitments, which include working with the South and East Lincolnshire Climate Action Network (SELCAN) to deliver the Climate Change Strategy, increasing biodiversity, implementing the Environment Act and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), discouraging fly tipping and environmental crime, maintaining and improving street cleanliness, working with local communities to develop green spaces and play areas, and protecting and enhancing built heritage and environment.

The report pack states that the council operates under a complex legislative framework for the management of waste services, including:

• The Environmental Protection Act 1990
• The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011
• The Environment Act 2021
• The Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2024
• The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024

The report pack states that the council has a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to arrange for the collection of household waste, and a duty to collect commercial waste from business premises if requested, although a charge must be made for this service. The council must also apply the Waste Hierarchy¹ to waste management, and demonstrate an 'efficient and effective' waste service to comply with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) funding.

The report pack states that the council's policy is that wheeled bins/bags will not be collected from unadopted roads². In such cases, bins/bags should be presented at the curtilage for collection, which is the point closest to their property on the nearest adopted road.

The report pack indicates that residents will be informed on their collection day when wrong items are placed within a bin or bag through the use of tags placed on bin handles, and/or stickers. Bins must not be stored permanently on the highway and must be taken back into the property as soon as possible after collection.

The report pack states that a service to collect Bulky Waste from households will be provided. Bulky wastes are items over 25kgs, such as furniture, washing machines and fridges. A full list of bulky waste items is set out on the list supplied by South Holland District Council Waste services.